Evaluation 7 - Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?

Looking back on my Preliminary Task, the School Magazine that I have created was my first step into making a magazine. I had briefly learnt about the conventions of a magazine but I did not know them in as much depth as I do now and for a first time I didn't think it was too bad. I have also learnt more about the layout and how to make it engaging. In my main task, I was able to spend more time developing, improving and experimenting with my pages. Most importantly, I have learnt how to use a wide range of technologies and software. I was able to receive feedback from others on my final product to make sure it is suitable for my target audience.

Preliminary Task                                               Final Product
 

Evaluation 6 - What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Evaluation 5 - How did you attract/address your audience?

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation 4 - Who would be the audience for your media product?

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

A media institution is a company that owns numerous companies in a range of media such as television, radio, publishing, motion picture, and the Internet. They are responsible for a media text. This could be through marketing, production and distribution. After researching media distributors, I feel Future PLC  is best for my magazine. This is because they already have ‘a range of genres and companies’ of which I have taken inspiration from such as Metal Hammer, Classic Rock, Total Guitar and Revolver. While researching these magazines I found there has been a decrease in their selling, this means there is a gap for my magazine. This company may want to decide between these decreases in sales or publish a new magazine. This is where I feel my media product fits in because I believe this and the fact I have created a modern, and original magazine will help sell my magazine to Future PLC.
Below, I placed mine with the magazines they distribute to show it addresses their target audience as well.

Evaluation 2 - How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I know, from my target audience survey, that they like to listen to music on albums and see live gigs. This is where they would spend their money meaning they wouldn’t want to spend too much.  I kept my price of £2.50 low to attract buyers from competing magazines as well as new buyers. I also didn’t want to make it too cheap as it shows they do spend money on the music industry. Thinking about my cover model, I kept to the usual rock magazine convention of showing anger to the audience. When dressing my model I took inspiration from a large band in the industry called ‘Black Veil Brides’ who use this war paint.
Below shows a range of bands, with my model in the centre, that I took inspiration from. These in particular are who my target audience listen to according to leading rock magazines such as Kerrang! and Metal Hammer.

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

Firstly, I used original conventions such as a standard A4 size. I did this because if I used A5 for example either the text would be too small or I would be crowding everything together. If it was bigger, such as A3, it would limit who would want to buy it because it's not easily transported and can seem overwhelming.
I challenged a usual convention by using black as my main colour, whereas a convention of other magazines is to use bright bold colours to stand out. Instead of doing this I chose a dark theme of black and red to stand out in a different way to my target audience of rock and metal fans. On the other hand, I used yellow to make attractions such as pugs and puffs stand out against the black on shelves.

Secondly, my Masthead has been constructed with inspiration mainly from Kerrang! The font I used, which according to the creator, is "rock, metal, music". This makes me feel it is suitable for my mast head. It is important to portray the genre through the mast head as it is the first thing that will be read on the shelf. 'Hard Tempo' came from the fact that the magazine is based on heavy music with a fast beat, also known as tempo. It is short and snappy so it is easy to recognise and memorable. Using white makes the title stand out. I chose dark red to make the text resemble anger and blood, and therefore fits my target audience. It also ties in with my cover line colours which I used for the same reason.

The secondary images I used were my own photos I had taken of rock singers or concerts I have been to myself. I used these because they inform the reader of what is featured inside.
For my central image I used a black wall as the background and made sure the model's t-shirt was black as I found, from my survey, black is the best colour for a rock magazine. I made the images black and white so the model, the guitar and design on his t-shirt contrast to the black. They follow stereotypes of rock music through angry expressions, black clothing, electric guitars and sometimes face paint. I made sure his face was centred on the cover so it is clearly seen so he can be recognised by people who like the music; they would feel encouraged to buy it. Another convention that I challenged what the fact of having my barcode on the front whereas others have it on the back to make room for more advertising space. However, my price is an advertising feature to attract buyers as it is relatively cheap compared to others in the industry.