Final Production Evaluation

Cecilia Fein-Hughes

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

I studied many different varieties of magazines , ranging from genres such as fashion to

music. I tried to incorporate aspects from all types in my own magazine, I have also

attempted to develop my own ideas.

On most media products I have researched, such as the ‘Rolling Stones’ magazine. The majority of magazine front covers have an area called the ‘sweet spot’ which is the middle/top left had corner. This has been scientifically proven that most readers eye is drawn to this corner when picking up a magazine, therefore it is important to make write something interesting, enticing and exciting.

Here I have designed a way of promoting what sort of artists are evolved in my magazine by highlighting the names in black. This makes the names more pronounced instead of looking dull and monotonous. This draws the audiences eye in. I have chosen these specific artists to attract the right audience type, such as interests, likes and dislikes. I have also alternated the font colors from white to pink to create visual variation.

I have included a strap line to give extra information for the reader without simply writing on the page. This makes the front cover look more interesting.

Continuing…

Most magazines have a small area dedicated to the time in which is was Produced. This is informative for the reader, particularly for those whosubscribe for purchases every month. This is similar to most magazines,Some of which I have studied like Vogue…

This is a screen shot from my contents page showing how I have arranged and categorized the rest if the magazine. I have chose to use a different colour palette to vary my overall image. Thorough the pale grey boxes I have (similar to the front page) highlighted the key words, phrases or artists for each section of the magazine. This attracts the reader to certain pages and interests them further.

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

The target demographic of my magazine ‘CM’ attempts to reach ages from roughly 17-25. The way

that you can tell I have targeted this particular age group is mainly through the model, who is aged 17

and has been dressed in clothes that attract this age group. Many magazines direct their age group

through the models clothing such as the ‘The rolling stones’ magazine.

The target psychographic however, can vary. I want my magazine to move away from the

‘mainstream’ audience which is constantly played on the radio, and seen in most magazines, but

instead, promote music with alternative genres. My magazine will therefore have a USP (unique

selling point) making it different from other magazines on sale. A niche audience but an audience

which is growing and therefore would be a very popular magazine.

Here is an example of the style of clothing the model is wearing. These shoes are glamorous, fun and young – ideally reflecting the demographic.

Continuing…

The young readers that I have targeted will be in late education such as sixth from and university and

young adults starting up new jobs. Again the age of the model reflects this as well as the typography

that I have used and the style of language such as ‘taken the world by storm and ‘wild shoe collection.’

It is important to recognize that all representations are ‘mediated’ meaning they can be biased to a

certain group. During productions a media producer is inevitably going to have an opinion within the

text, whether it be the photographer, the journalist or the editor. Therefore I may have inadvertently

represented certain groups due to my upbringing in a middle class family, in a well to do area of

London.

Media texts are mediated, and without intending to I have done

this to my magazine. I wanted my magazine to reach out to all

classes, genders and ethnicities, however, without meaning to I

have aimed my magazine towards the middle class through the

choice of font and language used.

My image of Chaia ( the model who is in my class) is a

stereotypically white, affluent middle class girl and therefore

the demographic is directed towards white middle class

females. For the purpose of the magazine style, I dressed the

model in tight trousers and a top which could be interpreted as

provocative and suggestive, this ultimately restricts some

religious groups.

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

I researched media institutions such as:

IPC Media – UK’s leading consumer magazine publishers with a large portfolio. They produce

and distribute magazine such as ‘Look’ and ’Now’ magazines, mostly fashion and leisure. They

also own magazines such as NME and Guitar and Bass.

Bauer Media Group – This is a large publishing company in Hamburg which operates 15

countries worldwide. Magazines such as Q, MOJO and KERRANG.

Emap – second largest magazine publisher in UK – however was sold off in 2007. Before

published magazines such as ‘Word’ and a clubbing magazine called ‘Mixmag’

If I were to chose a media institute to distribute my magazine, I would chose

Bauer Media Group. This is due to the fact that it publishes magazines such

as MOJO which I have researched before and was one of my main

inspirations which lead to influence my magazine in many ways. Influences

such as the genre of music I chose, and the atmosphere created by the

images. Although the institution is a multimillion pound distribution

company, it still produces alternative magazines, unlike popular titles such as

Vogue. However, although my magazine is individual, I will charge a large

amount of money for it, as it has a niche market so it needs to recoup more

of the profit and expenditure of the magazine.

Where ‘CM’ would be sold

‘CM’ magazine would be sold in in most supermarket chains such as

Sainsbury’s, Waitrose or M&S. This would make the magazine

available to older audiences as it is a common place for the older

generation to shop. It would also be sold in the local corner shops

which are situated near homes, train stations, bus stops and high

streets. This, therefore, means the magazine will be available for a

range of ages. This is because all convenience stores are known for

selling ‘essentials’ such as food, drinks and magazines.

Who would be the audience for your media product?

Here I have selected six images of young people to provide a visual awareness of my

target audience which is from 17-25. In recent years, independent music has become

increasingly popular amongst teenagers and young adults due to the surge of

popularity of the internet with websites such as YouTube, MySpace and Facebook

which allows people to find their own genre of music rather than relying on the

mainstream music on radios and television.

How did you attract/address your audience?

I attract and address my audience through the type of language, colour, image and

format of my magazine.

Language

My magazine avoids the use of text or slang language because this can associated with genres like ‘drum and bass’ which are ultimately aimed towards a different audience. But instead, ‘CM’ uses formal and sophisticated language to target the older, more educated readers. This can be exemplified through words such as, ‘Enticing’, ‘delve’ and ‘exclusive’. However, the magazine does include a variety of colloquial words and phrases such as ‘hectic’ and ‘taken the world by storm.’ The use of colloquial language addresses younger audiences around 17-18, they can relate easier to the text as they are use to medias such as Facebook, You-tube and Twitter which manage audiences in this age group and therefore use younger language.

Colour

On the font cover used a fun and exciting palette entice those who see the

magazine for the fist time, the aim was to attract the eye through vivid and bright

colour. I chose a vibrant/shocking pink as the title and it therefore runs throughout

my magazine, constantly reminding the reader of the name as well as the vibrancy

. I dressed my model in glittery silver clothes – her shoes and top. This addresses a

younger fan base as is it not colours or clothes an older reader would enjoy. I also

took the blue from the models glasses and used that same colour in the font to

create a familiarity and somewhat um-chaotic atmosphere.

On the second page I intentionally used calmer colours to create more of a relaxed, sophisticated tone. This relates both to the younger and older readers as it still carries the pink ‘CM’ title, yet now holds a level of maturity.

On the double spread contents page I brought along the aspect of maturity and developed it even further by using aneon purple line to split the two pages, this adds excitement and liveliness to my over all magazine and relates to the readers.

Other magazines I have studied have alsocreated a colour coordination, such as Vogue…

Image

The front cover provides and image of a female model lying down in a small

sequin top and patterned leggings with high heels. The position purposefully

shows of her feminine physique, with her midriff and chest showing. Without

being too assertive, the image shows confidence and attracts my specific

demographic. She also gives a perfect example of what the audience may

wear.

On the second page, similar to the colour format, I have purposefully created a calmer mood through the image. The model emits a tranquil, peaceful athmosphere through her expression and hand movement. This, again, addresses all ages in which will be interested in reading my magazine.

Format

I have created an easily read format, with small amounts

of writing so as not to bore or overwhelm the reader. My

magazine intends to be interesting yet laid-back. Therfore

the format mirrors this by being simplistic and controlled.

This also allows space for the image, which bodes

important for my magazine as the image is a visual

representation of the genre and and demographic.

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

Software

Photoshop - In order to create a professional looking magazine I realized earlier on that I would need to have a firm grasp of a DTP (desktop publishing program.) I have had experience with Photoshop before and therefore understand the basic rules and can navigate myself around the tools, however I am still challenged by some aspects such as carefully cutting around the image of my model, or overlapping the letters with other images. I was confident in changing the contrast of the images, the colour and font. I also excelled in cutting and cropping other images such as the polaroid frames and then adding in my own photos. At the beginning of my magazine I struggled more than when I finished and I think that is subtly noticeable when looking at the front cover the last double spread. It was important for me to understand using Photoshop in order to achieve a professional design that looks and imitates a real media text.

Tumblr – This computer tool has helped me to track the progress of my project. It allows images and text, which is perfect for all the analysis of magazine research and the visual steps towards my final production. I had never used Tumblr before and because of this I struggled at the beginning to handle the way it worked, however, it became easier once I had become familiar with the layout andsetting.

IPhoto – IPhoto is a simple tool used to edit images, I relied on this throughout my production to either crop, change saturation, contrast or colour my original images.

Flickr -

Facebook – promoting my magazine on Facebook. It is the most popular social working site in our class and therefore is the best way of collecting feedback.

Hardware

Camera – I had to get to know the camera, i.e. the focus, setting and adjustments.

Tripod – The tripod was useful as it kept the camera steady while I took the pictures, it also allowed me to keep the same position while I moved and positioned the model.

Lighting – I had to experiment with different lighting in order to get the right exposure.

Camera lenses – I experimented with a variety of different camera lenses to get the optimum shot.

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

From looking back at my preliminary school magazine task I had noted evident progression, I have made a significant transfer from my preliminary task to my main task. At the beginning Photoshop proved a difficulty to me as I found it hard to navigate around the tools, however as I progressed it became easier and more fluent as I became more familiar with the site. My skills have enabled me to be more creative with Photoshop.

I was unprepared for taking the source photos in the first task as I didn’t use a tri-pod, I also took little variation of images which therefore, limited my final magazine product. However I learnt to be more prepared on my final task which meant I used a tri-pod and new what different angles I would take.

I have learnt to plan my progress thoroughly in order to make my final product structured and organized. In my preliminary I planned well yet not enough as half way through the task I found my self having to come up with new ideas. However for the final task I new what I was doing and how I was going to achieve the success I wanted through my detailed planning.

I struggled with what to write and how to arrange the writing on the page to attract the readers. After studying many other magazines with a similar genre to mine I eventually became aware of how to order and place my wording, making them short and concise on the front cover and more detailed as you go through to the contents and double spread. These skills I carried with me through to my final task, helping me further to come to terms with the structure of magazines.