Evaluation Q5

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

By looking at NME and Q I was able to look at ways in which they bring in and attract an audience. After getting my questionnaire results I was able to see what the suitable age for my magazine and what they would like to see in the magazine. I then adapted my magazine to their needs and what they want in the magazine. If you compare together my magazine to both my questionnaire and the Q and NME that I have research you can see that I think I have used what is necessary to find the suitable audience and attract them. The key feature I feel that was shown throughout my magazine was the house style and informality of the magazine as it is both formal and informal at times. As you can see I feel that by using a house style of gold red black and white it gives it a classy and smart look but still aims towards a specific audience. Also by using props such as the guitar it enables and ensures that i attract the right audience as they are able to relate it to rock and realise what genre my magazine is. The house style and colour scheme suggests this is a rock magazine because of the red and black scheme i have used.

Evaluation Q4

Who would be the audience for your media product?

The audience for my music magazine would mainly be teenagers or young adults. Research shows how the typical audience for rock genre music magazines are teenage/ young adult males. I feel that i correctly addressed my audience and altered the magazine to fit the audiences needs. I created a questionnaire to find out the suitable audience for my magazine. I was able to find out what people wanted in a magazine whether its free items etc. I also was able to see if they preferred an informal or formal layout. This was really helpful when creating my magazine as I was able to directly address my audience by this research and questionnaire. After using these questionnaire results I have better fit my rock magazine to the people who actually read music magazines and try to get people who aren't interesting in music magazines to take an interest in mine by using a lot of platforms such as twitter and other social networking platforms. Here is a here is a link to my questionnaire results that show evidence of how I have changed my magazine to suit the audience.

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApZ-zAejsaj2dGgxZ3NHMUZZUEhkbXZOUHNHZXA4NUE&single=true&gid=0&output=html

Evaluation Q3

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

IPC media specialises in rock genre magazines and I feel this is why the institution fits my magazine. NME was the main magazine that I looked and researched into. I feel that this is why it Is better suited for IPC. My magazine shows a clear representation of rock genre magazines and uses very relevant features to magazines such as NME.
 Bauer Media Group could also publish my magazine. One of the other magazines that had given me influence and i had based my magazine on was Q magazine. i feel that my magazine shows similar aspects that Q magazine. As Bauer media group publish Q magazine they could also publish mine due to the similarities shown throughout my magazine.

I feel that my music magazine would fit in with other free independent magazines. My magazine is quite formal but professional following a very similar approach to magazines such as the fly. It is relatable through its context and the style of the magazine as a whole. I feel that my magazine would also have to be an independent magazine due to IPC looking for more professional magazines.

Evaluation Q2

Evaluation Q1

1.       In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

My front cover had to stand out in my opinion and I feel that I done a good job in doing this by using a very stand out house style of gold, black, red and white.I am confident with the outcome of my front cover as it actually resembles a real magazine in my opinion. I feel that it is clear and understandable. It is also very relevant to magazines that i have looked at such as NME as it uses a very similar house style. I am also very happy with the images i used as they follow a stereotypical rock artist. My content page is my weakest page in my opinion I feel that it doesn’t show enough relevance to other rock magazines and doesn’t have a strong house style to make it look professional.It lacks depth and individuality making it look extremely plain and bland. My double page spread is very relevant to Q magazine. By using one large image on one side and text on the other it gives the audience a clear separation when reading. My red house style is also relevant to Q magazine and the images relate to the text well. I feel that on the contents page and double page spread I should’ve used a more unique and interesting background and this is my main flaw of my magazines that makes it look unprofessional and not relate to other rock magazines. By using a more unique and interesting house style on these pages i feel that it would really improve the magazine as a whole.

You can see here how i have used NME as a guideline for my front cover. I feel that NME uses a strong house style to allow it to stand out against others in stores. I have used a similar technique by using the golden house style and red and black details. I feel that the black and white image really adds to the magazine making it even more unique as it reflects well with the gold. The brick wall suggests how the genre could be gritty and rebellious. By using one large image on my cover and large heading and masthead you can see the similarities between my and NME magazine. You can also see from my previous draft for my front cover how a more unique and interesting house style allows it to stand out and look more professional.

You can see my progression throughout making my double page spread and how my knowledge of music magazines and there standards has changed. I now know what the expectations are when creating a music magazine and how i can alter my magazine to suit the genre. you can see how my photoshop and manipulation skills have changed to ensure that my images represent the genre. On my original double page spread it was extremely basic, using little text and simple images. I have followed a stronger house style for my double page now using a colour scheme and sub headings to make it more stylish and clear. The clothing also shows a clearer representation of the rock genre giving a more professional outlook.

Finally you can see how i have created a more intriguing and professional contents page to help relate to the rock genre. The subheadings and house style relate a lot towards NME and how they present there contents pages. By using one strong image i feel that it relied on having a good house style which i feel i do. NME was the key inspiration throughout my contents page and i feel that it matches well together. My magazine uses a similar layout to ensure the professional look and to be able to relate to NME.

Final Contents Page MOCK Evaluation

My contents page really resembles a real contents page. I am really happy with the layout of it as i feel that it is really clear and simple. It uses the colour scheme to clearly show the layout of the contents page as it uses specific colours for each part of the page. Also by using social media links such as twitter and Facebook it can be linked to other rock genre music magazines, i feel that the one thing i would change would be the image as it looks very simple and has no background.

Final Contents Page MOCK

Final Double Page 2 Evaluation

When creating the second page for my double page spread i wanted it to reflect the first page but make sure it is more detailed. I feel that the image on the side really allows the text to address the band by using text/image cohesion as the image links directly to the text. I also feel that the colour scheme really suits this double page spread as it reflects the genre. I also feel that by using the quotes that it emphasises the text and links to it. The quotes are also using in magazines such as the NME. They are useful as it gets the reader thinking an allows them to see other peoples opinion on the band.

Final Double Page 2

Final Double Page 1 Evaluation

I am happy with my final product with the 1st page of the double page spread. I feel that it is lacking a lot but worked. Its background is quite plain and simple but is the introduction to the review so i was aiming for this. I feel that the large image introduces the reader to the review and who it is going to be about. I also followed the house style and colour scheme keeping to a white/ red and gold. This scheme works well as a review as it bring in collectively the approach that the front cover had. Also i feel that the image i have taken introduces us to the band due to the clothing that they are wearing links to the genre of music.

Final Double Page 1

Final Front Cover

Final Front Cover Evaluation

I am very pleased with the final outcome of my final front cover. i feel that it clearly shows inspiration from other rock genre music magazines. By looking at music magazines such as NME and Q this music magazine cover shows a lot of influence from them, it is mainly shown through the layout and font. The  colour scheme is a gold/white and red layout. I feel this layout uses the red and white as a classic red and white rock genre. Such as NME the red and white colour scheme works really well to give and present a professional layout. The gold adds a piece of class to the cover and to allow it to stand out more and be more unique. I am happy with the image i used as i feel that the props and clothing well suit the genre of rock and shows resemblance to other rock artists. The house style and context also links appropriately to other rock genre magazines.

The Importance of a Front Cover

For my front cover I had to take a lot of magazines in consideration and also how rock magazines address there audience through a front cover. Most rock genre music magazines use a key image of the artists or band in the middle. The house style is also usually bold and stand out which is why I have used a house style of gold/white/red. I feel that my magazine is very professional and suits the genre. By using equipment such as the guitar and suitable clothing, people are able to view this cover and realise the genre of it. I have also taken influence from magazines such as NME as I feel that the layout that there magazines use is very professional and brings in a large audience. I also feel that the layout of the text is very professional and clear.

Blog Progress Update

I feel that so far I am really happy with my coursework and how it has progressed. I feel that I have well documented my music magazine and its progression. I have spoken in detail about the influences I have had when making my music magazine and honestly criticised myself when I had to. This was helpful to me as I knew what had to be done and how I should do it. I also feel that I well developed and analysed my music magazine in comparison to other music magazines that show resemblance to the rock genre. I also feel that within the last 3 months I have really focused on detail and quantity of my blog posts insuring that I reach 60 posts in time. My next step is to now finalise my music magazine with a few changes and document them. I also have to create an evaluation of my music magazine and the process of creating it to hopefully end up with at least 60 blog posts. I feel that when I add these finishing touches to my magazine it will look very sleek and professional resembling a real life rock music magazine. For some of my blog posts I feel that I didn't put in enough effort and they may lack detail so I now feel that I am going to go back and change this to give my blog a much more professional look. Also I think that I should better document my journey throughout these blog posts as it is quite weak how it shows my development. I also feel that my time management has been very strong throughout as it have uploaded around 7-10 blog posts per month keeping on my 60 blog post target since the very beginning.

Props and Costume

This is one of the images i used in my music magazine. After researching music magazines such as NME and Q i have found that artists within the rock genre wear similar clothing to this, wearing a casual shirt and black skinny jeans. I also went to music and borrowed a electric guitar to allow the reader to notice how this is a rock genre magazine due to the music equipment used.

You can see from the photo that i have taken compared to the NME cover they wear very similar clothing to what i have chosen for kasey to wear. I also got influence from the style and way that they pose as i wasn't sure how to present my artist for my cover. I am very pleased with how my images came out as i feel that it reinforces the genre i have chosen. The guitar and clothing well represents rock and the style of rock magazines such as NME.