Evaluation

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products? My final product is very similar to a real media product in the aspect that it includes a main image, headline, barcode, price etc. This is mainly as to why I wanted my final product to be based on magazines in which I have researched so that it looked more realistic. I think however my final product is aimed more at females possibly because it features celebrity gossip and also the colours perhaps could be associated more with females. I chose to name my magazine 'flex' this is because I think it sounds modern and is short and snappy which would be attractive for a dance music magazine, also flex means to bend which is often done when dancing. The reason I went with my final choice of image for the front cover is because the reader can clearly see the headphones which immediately shows the magazine is about music, also bright colours are featured which again could possibly draw the reader because of the colourful image. I like the way in which she is standing it makes her look proffesional which is what I wanted, I edited my image only slightly so that it was a fraction lighter than originally this is because I wanted it to look brighter mainly because on the front cover it was advertising a competition to win a trip to Ibiza therefore if the image was brighter it could perhaps be associated with the summer. For the name of the magazine I decided to keep the colour of the font very simple therefore I chose the colour black, black is often seen as classy and wouldn't clash with the main image or any other colour font featured on the page. It is also different many of the magazines which I analyised used the colour red for their name therefore I wanted my magazine to be slightly different and unique. So that the main image is the main focus for the reader I deliberately centered the image directly centre on the front cover with any text surrounding the image so that it doesn't take the attention away from it.

I chose the colours of the fonts carefully as many colours are associated with specific things, for example I chose an orangey red colour for the text which was explaining about the competition to Ibiza I did this because orange is seen as a warm colour therefore represents summer. For the words 'win, win and...win!' I used oranges and yellows for each letter this again shows that is a summery topic.

I have made my front cover as bright and eye-catching as possible, dance music magazines are often very busy and bright which is what I tried to achieve. For the main headline I think the font I chose makes the headline look sophisticated as this font would probably be featured in fashion magazines.

How does your media product represent particular social groups? My final media product represents mainly females aged from around 16-late twenties, within this I tried to represent the particular social group by creating gossip stories in the contents so that it would appeal to this social group I also used femine colours such as pinks and yellows and a suitable theme and layout so that it would appeal to my particular social group.

What kind of media institiution might distribute your media product and why? A media institution which could distribute my media product could be emap, this is mainly because they distribute magazines such as mojo, heat, closer and mixmag. All of these magazines have similar characteristics to my final product as heat and closer are all about celebrity stories which would be found in my final product and mixmag is a dance music magazine therefore has the same music genre as my final magazine. Also if Emap published my magazine it would be very unique as most magazines do not aim to appeal to the particular social group as my final product.

Who would be the audience for your media product? As discussed above the audience for my media product would be females around the age range of 16-25/late twenties who are interested in dance music and like to keep upto date with the celebrity stories. It would also interest them because of the worthwhile competitions which I have advertised on my final front cover.

How did you attract/address your audience? When creating my magazine one of the first things I thought about was who to have on the front cover, because my magazine is aimed at females between 16-25 I decided to use a female who was between those ages so that it would give off a realistic impression. I also dressed her in modern, stylish clothing so therefore it would attract the particular social group I was aiming for. I think the name of my magazine 'flex' also addresses my target audience as it sounds fun and modern. On the front cover of my final product it features a competition, this will give readers a chance to get involved. With the price of the magazine featured on the front cover I made it fairly cheap for a music magazine priced at £2.25 therefore this would be competition for other music magazines. In my contents page I decided to include celebrities who are very successful at the moment and who are in the media spotlight therefore it would look realistic.

What have you learnt about technologies form the process of constructing this product? I have found since beginning media studies that I have used a lot more technology than I did before, I also feel I have improved with using documents such as word and photoshop which I feel more confident in using. I have also learnt the important convensions which are used in making a magazine after researching and analysising several magazines.

Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product? Since doing the prelininary task I have learnt simple things such as the conventions used in creating a magazine, I feel that final product appears more realistic that that of the preliminary task perhaps because upto beginning my final product I researched and analysed music magazines. I have also discovered websites for unique fonts which I have used in my final product which I never knew of when doing my preliminary task. I think the preliminary task was helpful into creating the final product perhaps so that I could practice on the different documents such as photoshop. I feel with my full product I had a lot more time to be able to research ideas and come up with ideas for my headlines and also the name for my final magazine and with taking the main images I could take them in different places. I have also learnt about the different publishers used in the media such as emap, IPC etc I found out what magazines they published therefore this helped me decided which publisher I'd like to publish my dance music magazine.

contents page

This is my final contents page, this is not based on any of the contents pages I have analysised.
I decided to feature the heading 'contents' on the top left handside of the page, I used a simple font off microsoft word as i didn't want the full focus of the attention to be on the word 'contents'. The text features stories such as 'Album reviews' which are featured in many music magazines and are popular with music fans. The main cover story is the first story featured on the contents page, as this issue is based on 'Miss DuBoi'. Originally I had 2 images of 'Miss DuBoi blowing a bubble out of bubblegum in a sepia edit however I decided to change this because it didn't appear to reflect the dance music theme and colour, therefore I decided to change the images. I decided to pick two images which I thought would also reflect the female artist's personality, as you can see 'Miss DuBoi is pictured twirling bubblegum and pulling a mischievous face therefore I wanted this to reflect her bright and bubbly personality which I think I did. I edited the picture so that 'Miss DuBoi's' face is in colour however her body in black and white this is so that the main focus would be on her face not the background. I also added a caption 'look up the hottest gossip' this is so that the audience could get familar with the page, also the word 'gossip' is often associated with females therefore this is what I wanted as my target audience is for females.

plan of the contents page

This is what i am aiming for my contents page to look like. The heading 'contents' will either feature in the centre of the page or on the left handside this is because I do not want it to overlap the picture.

The picture will again be of my female artist however the image will be on a slant, this is because i want it to have a different look and it will make it appear unique like the artist herself.

The text will appear on the left handside in a column, the text will feature page numbers with the main stories and competions.

double page spread

This is my final double page spread, I decided to go for the black and white look I did this because it is different and not many double page spreads are featured in just black and white. The black and white compliments the image and makes it appear more proffessional.
The sub-heading is 'Miss DuBoi' the name of my female artist, I did this so that it introduces the artist to the audience, I used a handwriting type font which I collected of the site dafont.com I did this so that it appeared that my female artist had signed her autograph on the page.
Underneath the sub-heading is a few lines which is basically explaining what to expect in the article, also when researching I noticed that many double page spreads do this therefore I took this into account. The article itself is an interview at first I was just going to write information about the singer however I liked the idea of interviewing my female artist I think it would almost be like introducing her to the audience which i liked. For the image I again featured her with headphones for the same reason as it shows it is about music, I made her pose with her hand on her hip so that it looked like she had attitude and confidence which could perhaps represent her music and style. I also wanted her looking down as this is unique and different which I wanted, I also wanted the image to be long so that it filled up the left page. I lightened the image using picasa which is used to edit photographs, I lightened it so that it blended in with white background featured on the right page.
At the beginning of the article I used a dropcap as this again looked professional and these are often featured in magazine articles and newspapers.

plan of the double page spread

This is what I am hoping my double page spread will turn out to look like. As you can see on the left page the main image will take up the full page, from researching music magazines many of the double page spreads are featured like this and I think it looks proffesional and I like the way it displayed. On the right page the sub-headline will be featured at the top of the page this is so that it introduces the article to the reader and tells them what the article is going to be about, the article is going to be an interview this will also help the reader almost get to know the artist and what she is about.

front cover

This is my final front cover, I decided to go with the name 'flex' this is because the genre of the magazine is dance music therefore i thought that 'flex' was well suited with the genre. I also think it sounds modern and upbeat.
For my masthead I used the colour black I did this because I wanted it to be bold against the light yellow background of the picture, therefore if I had used a bright colour for the masthead it would have not stood out as much. The font I used for the masthead is from the website dafont.com it is almost a retro look and the font is often featured on posters for clubs etc therefore I took this into account. I also used the colour black for my main headline for the same reason that it will appear bold, I also gathered the font from dafont.com, I think the font I picked for the main headline looks stylish which I wanted as I think it is well suited to the main image.
For the main image I deliberately made my model be pictured holding headphones as this represents music, and the reader immediately knows it is a music magazine. I also dressed her in colourful, stylish clothing and jewellry as I wanted to represent the female artist as modern and stylish which I think is important, I also added extentions to her hair because many female artists today are pictured wearing them aswel as styling her hair I also applied colourful make-up as this would make the picture stand out even more and it could also represent the magazine as bright and original.
The writing underneath the main headline is describing in several words what to expect in the article, I used modern informal language as this would appeal more to the target audience I am appealing to, I also used pink colours this is because when I was researching dance music magazines the many of the texts and articles used yellow, orange, pink colours as this often represents the type of music therefore I took this into account when choosing the colours.
Down the left handside of the magazine I displayed a made up website for the magazine I did this because it makes the magazine appear more realistic. As you can see the main image of the front cover is of my female artist 'miss DuBoi' I wanted the name of my female artist to be original which I think I have. My magazine is a monthly magazine as I think it would be more successful if it was, I also chose a reasonable price of £2.95 I think is not to expensive or to cheap.

plan of the front cover

This is a plan of what I am hoping the front cover of my
magazine will eventually look like.
The masthead will feature at the top of the page, however at the left handside this is so that I can make room for the main image and an advertisement. I have thought of several ideas for names for my magazine. Also after researching and looking at different music magazines I have taken into account that the masthead looks best and more proffesional featured at the top of the magazine.
The main image which will feature on my front page and it will be of the music artist, the background will be of the picture my reasons for this is because I think it looks more natural and also it will look bright and colourful. The main headline will overlap the picture as I think it looks more proffesional and the audience will also realise the main article is about the main image.
I have deliberately not featured other stories and plugs on the front cover this is so that the main focus is on the female artist, however I have featured a 'competition' at the top right hand corner this is so that the music magazine appears more realistic.

The name for my magazine

I have been researching for my magazine and have come up with several ideas for the name of my dance music magazine.

• FLEX- The name flex ididcates that the magazine is associated with dance music which is also associated with clubs in which you dance and move, I also think 'flex' appears modern and upto date I think it would definitely appeal to young adults.

• CLUB- This would definitely show the reader that the magazine genre is dance, the noun 'club' is often associated with dance and upbeat music therefore this is why I came up with this idea.

• TWIST- Like 'flex' twist is also like a dance move, I also think it is a very catchy name and sounds fun and upbeat.

different font types

I selected five different fonts for my titel for my magazine, I did this so that I could have an option and also so I could compare and see which I thought looked best for the genre of the magazine. I collected my fonts from dafont.com.

The first font is named 'clubland' so I staight away thought that this font would be suitable for my magazine because this is associated with dance music, I have also seen this font on many posters advertising certain club nights etc.

The second font is very simple however bold this therefore could stand out if placed on a front cover of a magazine, the third and fourth fonts are very similar in looks but have that retro look about them and finally the fifth font I like this is because it appears modern and stylish and would perhaps appeal to the target audience

photos for my front cover

Genre of magazine and conclusion of ideas for my magazine

After researching and exploring different genres of magazines, it has helped me to come up with a genre to base my magazine on. The genre I have chosen is mainly dance/pop this is because I enjoy listening to this type of music and I will have an idea in what to include. I think by not picking a specific type of genre for example 'dance' then it is more appealing for a wider audience range, also many of the successful artists in the charts today are mainly from this type of genre.
My target audience would be mainly 16-25 as it will also feature celebrity gossip and information about music etc, however it will still appeal to anyone who simply has an interest in pop/dance music.
I have mainly looked into dance magazines such as 'mixmag' and 'DJmag' which are two very popular dance magazines, I wanted to look at the layout, type of font and colour scheme they used I took into account that bright funky colours such as pinks, reds and yellows are used frequently perhaps so that it reflects the upbeat sound of the music. I particually like 'DJmag's layout and the main model as the main feature on the front cover I am hoping to produce my front cover like this. My article and front cover is going to feature an upcoming, young and individual dance/pop female artist. I have gathered together some succesful female artists who are in the charts today so that I can gather ideas for my photos.

This image of Lady Gaga works well because the background is very neutral and out of focus however this is so that it focuses on her and her original style. I like how she is posing with her hands this also makes her look very unique perhaps to reflect the sound of her music.
Her clothing matches the background colour which is a neutral colour makes her look very calm and peaceful which will have a good impression on the audience. The design on her cheek also shows originality because she is featured in many other pictures with images on her face, I like this and it has helped me come up with a different style etc for my female artist.

This image is taken infront of a white background, this makes the audiences full focus onto the artist because there is no distractions in the background.
The microphone reflects that this is a singer and that it is related to music. Again she is featured with an image on her cheek, this could almost be said as her trademark which makes her fresh and new and very inspiring. Her style such as her straigh and almost white hair makes her very different from some of the other female artists out today, she is also pictured wearing just black and white which is seen as very classy and smart. Her pose makes her look like she is almost in action because of the fact she has her mouth slightly open and the microphone is also in place.

I like this image mainly because of the colours used, they create a very peaceful image of the singer. The colours are light and not to broad, it also gives off a girly image which could reflect the style of music. It has also inspired me to use props in my photos, this makes the image more interesting for the audience. The background works well with the singer's skin colour and blends together nicely, it also makes a change to just plain white, she is also well posed which makes the photo look more interesting and adds effect and proffessional quality. Her pose also makes her appear very girly and works well with the prop of the chinese umbrella and the colours used. The singer is also not heavily made up which makes her appear more natural perhaps, the jewellry is also quite minimal.

This image appears to be more natural mainly because it has not been prepared and we can also see that it has been taken by the paparazi because it looks like it has been taken at some sort of awards show. I think for my magazine I may take some natural photos of my female artist, this is because in most magazine it nearly always shows pictures of the featured artist/band in a natural way.
The clothing the singer is wearing shows she has her own unique sense of style and clearly wants to stand out from the rest which I think is important.
The pose is just a simple wave at the camera this shows that this photo is nothing serious as in a photoshoot etc. Behind her is a board which has an 'mtv' notice this shows that she is successful if she is attentending the mtv awards, this has given me ideas into taking some more natural photos of my female artist.

Analisis Contents Page

This contents page was taken from an old KERRANG issue, we know this because it features the main singer from the band Greenday who were very popular roughly about 5years ago. However the lead singer of the band is the main focus therefore showing that there one of the main articles will be about the band. The colours featured are mainly black and red these are very bold and are often associated with 'Kerrang' and this particular music genre, perhaps why the lead singer is dressed in black and red. There is a small piece of text next to the main focal image possible about the band and which page to turn too.
There is also the date featured '01/05' therefore this shows that this is a monthly magazine, I will take this into accound and will help me when designing my own magazine contents page.

Double page spreads

I particually like this magazine double page spread, mainly because of the layout and the colours featured. The editor has made the article look as if graffiti and spray paint has been used this is very effective because it could perhaps the artist/person who is being interviewed. The colours are also very dramatic using white and black and then a very powerful pink which makes the page stand out immediately. The picture of the man and the buildings in the background overlap onto the the right handside of the page where the text is featured, the text is produced in a very neat way just in a rectangular coloum this makes the piece look very original and unique.
The headline 'Everyone's favourite UNKLE' has a play on the word Uncle which I think is a clever technique to use in a magazine or article. The artist featured is a DJ and producer, I think that he looks like a stereotypical DJ which the designers will have probably taken into account. The photo is taken in black and white which complients the picture and makes it look more serious. The picture behind the artist is a block of flats which could perhaps be linked with the artist, he could have possibly grown up there and that could have been what inspired him etc.

This double page spread has been taken from a music magazine, interviewing an upcoming artist.
The article talks about the artists upcoming music and information about the artist.
I like this double page spread mainly because of the way it is designed, the editing and photography is very natural which I like because it could perhaps represent that the artist is very down to earth from an ordinary background. The picture looks like it has been taken round the back of a building or some houses.
The colours are used are very neutral and not to bright possibly because he is not a popstar or dance artist, bright colours are not often associated with bassline etc. The headline used is 'Shining Wit' this introduces the artist to the reader, when someone is witty they are often amusing and intelligent, therefore the magazine is making the artist look good and putting them in a good light. The way in which the double page spread is clever because the image is seperate from the text so that the reader can both read the article and look at the picture, and also the picture is behind the text which I like because it shows that the whole article is about the artist/genre. This gives me key ideas into designing my magazine and in ways in which I can design it.

music magazine front covers

Analysis of Q magazine :
Q is a music magazine published monthly in the UK. The magazine features new music releases, music complications, film and live concert reviews as well as radio and television reviews. Most of the magazine is devoted to interviews with particular artists, in this case Madonna we can see this because she is the focal image on the front cover and is pictured in the centre of the magazine which immediately focuses the reader to her. The colour scheme used is mainly red, white and black these colours are often used in magazines because they are bold and make the magazine look proffesional. The main headline is 'Madonna' featured in red which is associated with importance, showing that she is the main focus of this edition. On the left handside there is a list of what else is going to be featured in the magazine such as famous stars as of 'Girls aloud', 'Russel Brand', 'Kaiser Chiefs' etc this shows that it is a popular magazine.
At the bottom of the magazine it shows what it is giving away in the magazine, Q magazine often gives away freebies such as Albums etc however in this case a 70 page special women in music. this also shows that it is a very successful magazine because of the fact it is giving away freebies with the magazine.

This is a classic example of a mainstream music magazine. We can recognise this by the magazines classic title 'RollingStone' this could perhaps be named after the famous band The rolling stones, this will therefore attract many potential buyers into purchasing the magazine.
The main focus on the magazine is Christina Aguilera who is a very famous female artist, she is pictured in the center of the magazine possibly because the reader will be instantly drawn into looking at her and what the main article of the magazine will be about.
The main advantage for this magazine is that it covers all the main music genre therefore not for a specific genre. This magazine not only covers music related topics but also general showbiz news and news altogether.
With Christina Aguilera the main focus on the front cover this is possibly because she is promoting a new album or single etc.

When looking at mixmag i can immediately establish that is a dance music magazine, this is because mainly of the font used it is large and is often seen on posters advertised around clubs and bars. Also the colour scheme plays a big role in creating the genre, the magazine editors have used bright funky colours such as yellow, pink and orange these are bold and are often associated with new and upbeat music.
The artist featured on the front cover of mixmag are the successful band 'klaxons' they are an indie/dance group who are big in the UK, they are therefore the main focus of the magazine also the band name 'klaxons' is coloured in yellow which is extremely bright and makes it stand out largely.
Focusing on the cover I can see that a CD has been given away with the magazine therefore this will increase the sales of the magazine.
With mixmag the main focus is the band/artist on the front cover, however with other magazines they often have other articles spread around the front cover, I have noticed that there are other artists and bands listed down the right hand side of the magazine perhaps to promote their popularity.
The colour used for the title 'mixmag' is very unusual and not used anywhere else on the magazine, therefore makes it look more original.

With DJmagazine we can immediately see that it is associated with dance music because of the funky font used which is often used on album covers, posters, billboards etc. Also the afro hairstyle is often associated with dance and funk perhaps because there is an article about ibiza which is the place to be for dance music.
The title of the magazine stands out because of the colour red is often associated with importance therefore will draw the reader into picking the magazine up.
Again with 'DJ' the colours are very bright and colourful as in 'mixmag' this is because it could be representing the genre of music which is upbeat and positive.
The magazine seems very focused on Ibiza perhaps because this is where dance music is associated with. The background colour is very pale and also features a small part of the sea probably showing the island of ibiza, the paleness of the blue keeps the attention focused on the main image and main article. Dotted around the magazine are two competions which are also popular with magazines therefore the reader can feel involved and can also participate in competitions. The reason as to why I am mainly analysing dance music magazines is because I am going to base my music magazine of the genre and also these magazines will help me to gather information to create my own dance music magazine which will also consist of celebrity gossip and general information for teenagers/young adults.

Mojo is a popular music magazine published by Bauer, following the success of Q. Mojo could be said as to be classic rock magazine, and would fall under the genre of rock/metal. On Mojo's first issues Bob Dylan and John Lennon were featured on the front cover, this shows that it is a very popular magazine because of the famous artists/bands featured.
Mojo also has special edition magazines which include the whole magazine being about just one artist or genre, one of the most famous was a special edition about the Beatles. The colour scheme of Mojo is very dark and uses minimal colours such as white, black and red these colours especially black are associated with the rock and metal genre. Red often signifies with importance therefore this will perhaps be one of the key reasons as to why Mojo has used this colour.
Mojo also features a CD which shows how popular this music magazine, in this magazine a CD has been given away about Bob Dylans roots and what inspired him as an artist.





NME is an extremely popular magazine and covers mainly the indie/rock genre, the music magazine has been running since 1952 and created the UK singles chart. Many famous groups such as the Rolling Stones and The Beatles were featured.
As we can see on this magazine The Killers are featured on the front cover, the killers are a popular band and therefore are the main focus on the magazine.
The colour scheme of the NME magazine are bold colours such as red, yellow and white these make the headline and information stand out and look appealing to the reader. The NME not only has its own magazine but its own website and its own awards. The music magazine focuses on new upcoming bands and helped bands such as Franz Ferdinand, The Artic Monkeys etc become were they are today.

Making a music magazine-LIIAR

For my main portfolio task I am going to look and see how I can apply the main media concepts to create a music magazine with a double page spread, by doing so I am going to use the acronym LIIAR this consists of Language, Institution, Ideology, Audience and Representation.

Language-The language featured in a magazine is extremely important mainly because this is what encourages the reader to read more, therefore i am going to use language which appeals to the age range which i am aiming my magazine at which will be mainly 16-25. I will also use plugs to make the language catchy, the colour and font of the language is also important therefore I will take this into account.

Institution-There are many different publishers for different magazines such as: Bauer,Emap and many more. They are very important in the making of a magazine because they are included in the production process.

Ideology-For the ideology of my magazine I will be looking into the target audience for my magazine, age range and also the specific genre for my magazine, these are all important for a magazine to be successful.

Audience-For my magazine it is going to be aimed at an audience who are interested in the genres pop/dance, my magazine is mainly going to include music/information about these included genres.

Representation-My music magazine will represent persons who are around the age of 16-25 mainly because it will include celebrity gossip aswel as music. It will also be fixed around the genres pop/dance.