Evaluation

1. With my front cover I decided that my main aim would be to challenge the codes and conventions of other music magazine. I wanted to challenge the idea of having a loud front cover and decided to keep it minimalistic, this I achieved by placing my main image on a stark white background. I feel this gives the front cover artistic connotations and rather than being a springboard for advertising the magazine by placing celebrities as the main focus. I felt by not doing this my cover would be granted more artistic merit and would reflect the feel of the overall magazine which would have an air of sophistication, similar to that of Rolling Stone magazine which tackles serious political and social debates. I eventually decided on using a model but this was a reluctant decision for the reasons aforementioned. I’d have preferred to use the picture of a guitar and amp as this I felt signified a greater message than a person could. The sheer fact alone that the amp and guitar were inanimate said more for th emessage I was trying to give than any human model could. I also challenged generally accepted codes concerning the masthead by placing it in the top left corner of the page, I did this to again challenge general conventions of having the masthead as a banner across the top of the page so as to keep with the idea of ‘revolution’ which was the name of my magazine, whilst this isn’t an huge difference it does challenge convention enough that I liked the idea of keeping it in. Whilst researching other magazines I found that rolling Stone magazine, which was my main influence, had been accused in the past of taking ‘style over quality’ after it stopped involving serious political debate and focused more on young pop stars after which they changed back and saw sales increase. I wanted to reflect this by addressing serious debates, taking artistic and representative pictures and keeping a generally sophisticated tone. The Rolling Stone magazine cover (right) is a good example of the idea I was aiming to achieve. It shows a picture of the notorious mass murderer Charles Manson which at the time of its release was a very topical matter and a huge talking point. It shows a saturated black and white picture of Manson on a purely  white background which signifies a form of restraint, whilst the magazines intentions are to entertain they are also sophisticated enough to tackle important matters in a controlled manner. So as you can see I kept the idea of having a main image on a white background but challenged the conventions of a masthead spanning the full length of the page or being in the left hand corner.

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My double page spread was inspired by the below Beatles spread. I did stray from the conventions slightly as i felt this would better represent the codes of my own magazine and its style. The Beatles article gives a page dedicated to a picture of The Beatles as they are the focal point of the article however, since my article did not directly address any particular band or artist I did not feel it was appropriate or even necessary to do the same. Instead I gave one third of the page to a close up of the back of a guitar. I chose the back of the guitar so as to keep the picture as simplistic as possible as this would contrast well with the white background, as with the front cover. The title, as well, instead of having across the top of two pages i felt would look better if it were to only be across one page. I wanted to leave as much room as possible for writing so that I could have an in depth article in keeping with the serious debates I wanted to have within my magazine. Similar to the Beatles article I had quotes from the text raised out of the main body but in contrast I then changed the font of the quote and placed it on a purple background as this was in keeping with my own form and codes. Also, my article regularly changes font, font colour and font size. My main article is written in white ‘Travelling Typewriter’ font which I used as I felt it had connotations of a journalist travelling across country tracking a news item and reporting on it, similar to somebody like Hunter S Thompson who wrote for Rolling Stone magazine and would follow an item for weeks, I did not, however, write the article in his style of Gonzo journalism. I kept this font white so that it would be clearest against the black but also in keeping with the contrast of black and white that i’d been using on the front cover. I felt the use of a black background gave connotations of formality and sophistication which I felt appropriate for my target audience. The general codes that you can see in my double page spread are that the main headline is in its own unique font, white so as to stand out but remain formal. The subheading, quotes and any information printed in the corners of the page are orange on a purple background, I liked these colours as the purple sat well on the black as its not too loud and is sultry enough to still appeal to my target audience and the orange font went well atop the purple. The colour scheme that I used personally has connotations of a Jazz Club where in a dimly lit room the only bright lights would be on a stage whilst people performed some wearing purple, as purple itself has very suave and cool connotations, and the orange glow of cigarettes being smoked. This for me perfectly encapsulated what I wanted my magazine to be and also appeals fully to my target audience.

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I took several ideas for my contents page from the example (right). I liked the idea of having the contents divided up into different catergories according to their content as I felt this was more organised and therefore more suitable for my audience. I also liked the idea of each of these sections being on a different coloured background as it helped differentiate between the different sections. As you can see I kept to my preset codes and conventions by having the black background, purple boxes for the headings which are themselves purple. The main title of the page ‘what is happening in this months issue…’ is in a unique font for the page and is white, similar to my double page spread. I chose not to list on the contents every page in the magazine as in a typical magazine a lot of pages would be given to advertisments and also if a magazine of up to 80 even 100 pages had every page listed in the contents then it would be rather labourious to read through and create. Also, in most magazine contents pages (as can also be seen in the example) there is a section dedicated to the stories or articles advertised on the front cover, usually called ‘on the cover’, ‘cover stories’ or in the case of this example ‘up front’. As my front cover was kept plain, simplistic and only made mention to one article I felt that involving such a category would not be necessary.

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2. I feel that my media product represents a fairly specific area of the market but at the same time would still appeal to a wider audience. I think in terms of age it would appeal to a fairly wide range from as young as about 16 to mid to late 40’s. This would be as a result of the bands associated with the magazine (Rock bands generally from early blues to modern bands) and also the subject matter of other non music related articles such as political matters and world news/ events. The range of bands I feel would therefore appeal to the large age range whereas the non music material would appeal to the angry youth who would be looking for a voice in society and also older people who are generally interested in political and social matters. I think the layout of the magazine and the colour codes used would be appealing to a broad range as it is clearly layed out as well as being calm colours that don’t necessarily make the magazine seem too loud. In terms of social class I believe my magazine is open to any class and doesn’t necessarily appeal only to one area but more than likely it would appeal most to the middle classes this being again potentially the subject matter. Generally the lower or working classes are not as well educated and as such may not like the political debate however, my magazine is called ‘The Revolution’ and would often contain potentially radical debates or articles some of which may appeal to the desires or wants of the workign class. The language that I have used and general syntax I feel would again appeal more with the middle classes as it is informal yet intelligent language used. So whilst the language soeaks to the reader on their level it does use some complex language and won’t always break the story down to its simplest form and will sometimes assume the audience has certain knowledge, this as I have said may not appeal to the working classes as they may not have good enough education to follow or be interested but they are never purposefully left out. I don’t feel the magazine is particularly geneder specific as there will be no half clothed models draped on every other page as I don’t feel this helps represent my audience. Using such models only helps to construct a  very ill advised picture of what my audience wll like, it assumes that they would buy the magazine with the sole purpose of looking at the models and reading the content is a secondary motive as opposed to wanting the content and this I do not agree with. However, having said that from research early on in the course I did find that it was mostly male orientated magazines (GQ, FHM) that involved political discussions. I also feel perhaps that the layout being quite reserved may appeal to men more than women, again generally male magazines take a more relaxed approach with colour schemes and having news items/ boxes popping up all over the page whereas women magazines (Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan) tend to have sometimes quite sporadically placed boxes with information/ facts/ quotes etc. In the front cover, main article and contents page here I have only used white models but this is not something done on purpose. My magazine will aim to be racially neutral, mocking no races and being biased toward none either as such my magazine will endeavor to deliver quality reporting rather than anything based specifically on race however, rock music and politics are white dominated areas and as such it may seem that my magazine might appeal more to the white community, especially as a result of pictures being used. Again, as with race, my magazine does not attempt to represent only one small area of the sexual orientation spectrum, it does not use nude or semi-nude models of either gender and all its articles are held under the assumpton of equality. As such sexual orientation is generally not addressed unless it becomes a political or social debate that is discussed. Overall the language used in my product is generally quite sophisticated and assumes that the audience has some prior knowledge already, as such it represents generally white, middle class males. The graphology and layout of the magazine would appeal largely to males again as it has the rather sultry combination of purple with black rather than using bright colours and sporadically placed articles to attract and keep attention. Finally, the content would generally appeal to an age range from as young as about 16 to the mid to late 40’s as this general range is when a person is most politically active (ie has a strong opinion and wants their voice to be heard etc).

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3. There is potential for mainstream businesses to want to help advertise or distribute my product but generally my target audience isn’t quite mainstream so advertising on Radio 1 may not be particularly realistic whereas maybe being mentioned on a Radio 2 programme, which generally have more tailor made audiences, I would also feel that other more specific radio stations such as Planet Rock may also help advertise by way of interviews or even a teaming of our two products. I could make mention of Planet Rock in my magazine and help advertise them and they could do the same on their programmes. I think that distributors such as WHSmiths, Tesco, Borders etc are generally where my magazine is most likely to be sold. These retailers generally have on display large ranges of magazines spanning many different genres and specific markets and as such would feel that there will be a place for my product. Other retailers that deal with music may also distribute my magazine so companies such as HMV, who in turn own Waerstones and therefore both companies could stock my product. Again deals could be struck with these companies in terms of advertising.

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4. My target audience for my product can range extensively and is not tied down to anything particularly specific but I have made the magazine with certain ideals in mind and obviously from my own point of view and this is likely to specify a more particular audience. If I were to describe a typical reader of my magazine they would be male, 24, white, middle to lower class and would be quite politically minded. He would have a keen interest in music as a whole, so rather than like music only in and of the moment he would appreciate music as a practice and would actively seek out music, new and old, to listen to.  It would be a young male who would still be angry at the world and so has fierce opinions involving global and national politics and to an extent would be generally intelligent. The magazine would cover a range of music and often an eclectic mix so the target audience must be open minded so as not to dismiss any band that may be different to the usually advertised bands. Generally te younger readers would still be at college or university and the older readers would most likely work in an office of some description, as opposed to being a manual worker. They may or may not be activists but would definitely be inclined to have strong opinions of the world, whether or not they act upon them.

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5. I use a variety of methods in order to address my target audience. Most magazines will use many different pictures with captions and have quotes pasted across the page and in addition to this the language used will be simple or ‘dummed down’, to me and my target audience this feels like the writers are looking down on the reader, as they don’t expect much from them, generally passive audiences. With my media project on the other hand I try to address the reader as an equal and as such will use slightly more sophisticated or complex language so as not to patronise my audience and I feel that my target audience would be drawn to this style. They want an article that gets to the point and doesn’t cloud the purpose of the report with a multitude of images, quotes and sub articles and my magazine offers them that as well as having this in a clear, organised and orderly fashion with clear headings in the contents and an article that follows a clear structure of heading, subheading and main article. I used only two pictures in the double page spread and only one quote that was out of the main body of text, I did this so that my magazine still retained some of the conventions of a normal magazine otherwise it would become too much like a book. The font used on the double page spread appeals to my target audience by having connotations of a traveling journalist and therefore makes the information seem more founded and as if the writer has first hand experience rather than merely reporting back on second hand research.

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6. My biggest achievement in terms of learning technology was learning how to use Photoshop. Before starting this project I had never used Photoshop and was not quick in picking it up. From the two diagrams you can see that I learned how to crop a photo, cut around the image I want and then manipulate that from there. I struggled at first with the idea of layers, no other program I had encountered before had ever had this feature and so this concept was completely new to me. Before beginning my college magazine at the very start of the course I tried following a few step by step guides from the internet which mildly helped my understanding of the programme though they largely used terminology with which I was not familiar with and so would confuse me further. As a result I felt highly doubtful of my skills with Photoshop and uncertain that I would be able to conquer it at all for my final piece. However, after a number of hours spent in my own time merely playing with the interface, and with a little help from my friends, I managed to get to a level of understanding that enabled me to create my finished product. Along with Photoshop I had also never encountered InDesign and at first, again, struggled to understand how I was supposed to use it. InDesign being a product of Adobe the controls and general interface are similar to Photoshop and so after initially getting to grips with the latter I was then able to better understand InDesign. I was however, at first, confused by the vast array of different coloured lines that cover the screen throughout its use, as the picture shows. I would often become confused by these lines as by the end I had many crossing the screen and I was unsure of which line belonged to which area of the page. This aside I managed to understand InDesign much quicker than Photoshop but I would say now that I have a better overall understanding of Photoshop and of how it works.

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7. I think the biggest thing I have learned from the college magazine to my music magazine is the attention that needs to be paid to codes and conventions. It is not okay to simply cover a page in anything one feels like as this would look unprofessional. There must be some kind of colour scheme, a recurring font style, writing style etc. These not only make the magazine seem more professional but also give the magazine a sense of identity, one that will help sales of the product as it allows people to relate to its identity if they feel it represents them. From this, I learned that making a magazine is not simply placing a few pictures, adding a few colours and then writing. It takes a lot of careful planning to make a magazine and would explain why a popular magazine would delegate the responsibilities to a whole team of people. I also understand more the significance of font and images and the impact that they have on an audience. A member of an audience can be won or lost simply by the choice of font. If, for example, I were to write a magazine aimed at older people concerning health issues then I would not use a lively and animated font as this would be inappropriate and could affect sales. Similarly, for the same type of magazine, I would have to choose and appropriate image that represented the audience and was relevant to the content. Failing this would affect the overall identity of the product and would then convey mixed messages to an audience and as such affect sales. A clear image and identity is essential for a magazine, whether targetting older or younger people. I feel also that from research and from my questionnaire that despite a lot of magazines conforming to codes involving images, ie scantily clad female models on male orientated magazines etc, a lot of people respect something slightly unusual or even artistic. Something similar to my original idea for a front cover that depicted an inanimate object. The general conventions of a music magazine denote that a model should be used, usually a band or artist looking directly into the camera, my questionnaire showed that some people find this too common and like something that oerhaps challenges this convention and maybe even makes them think.

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Audience Feedback –

This is the results of a survey I made on 20 different people in relation to my magazine –

1. Do you feel that the minimalistic cover design is effective in grabbing the audiences attention?

Yes – 17           No – 3

2. Would you like to have seen a wider array of colours used throughout the magazine?

Yes – 7              No – 13

3. Was the article layed out clearly?

Yes – 20            No – 0

4. Do you think that the main article would benefit from having more pictures?

Yes – 11            No – 9

5.  Were the contents easy to follow?

Yes – 18            No – 2

6. Would you prefer the contents page to have more information?

Yes – 6              No – 14

7. Would you buy this magazine?

Yes – 17           No – 3

This clearly shows that whilst my magazine may not have been wholly successful in every area it was still successful overall and people want to read it.