Media Evaluation

In this unit I have been asked to create a magazine cover, contents page and a double page spread of a music magazine for a contemporary musical genre.

I began by finding conventions of music magazine by deconstructing three front covers, three contents pages and three double page spreads of music magazines. I then used these conventions to use and challenge in the making of my front cover.
I followed the convention of having the masthead of my magazine at the top of my magazine starting from the left to the right. This contains the magazine logo because if the magazine was placed on a magazine rack customers would be able to see a section of the logo and identify the magazine from this.

Another convention I found about magazines is that most of the cover lines on the front cover of magazines are positioned within the left third of the magazine, this is because on the magazine rack this section sticks out from behind the other magazines. My magazine cover challenges this as there is only one cover line situated within the left third. However the cover line that is in the left third of the magazine is in a graphic, this is to make this cover line stand out as I think the graphic will make people pick up my magazine to read it.

I also included a sell line to my magazine which is strongly related and close to my masthead. This is for the viewer to see after they have seen the masthead of the magazine, this is a catchy slogan which I think will make the viewer want to read inside the magazine. A sell line is a convention of music magazine, as on some of the biggest selling magazines they include attractive points to the magazine such as ‘Q’ who put ‘Britain’s Biggest Music Magazine’, them putting this as the selling line will make people think because it is the biggest magazine it will be the best one for them to read. ‘Kerrang’ magazine also have a sell line, which is attractive to its target audience, there sell line is ‘Life is Loud’, which relates to their target audience because they are aiming towards metal fans, which is generally a loud rough genre of music. I have chosen to follow convention by having one, which is ‘Can you feel Beat?’ this is related to the magazine name which is ‘Beatwave’ I had chosen this name because music tracks of this genre are called ‘Beats’ and I chose to call it ‘Beatwave’ coming from the word heat wave, which is something the UK love as they rarely get hot weather. The sell line is ‘can you feel beat?’ coming from can you feel the heat a saying within the film and TV industry through WWE wrestling which attracts a big UK audience. I also think the magazine name and sell are attractive a wave could be related to radio waves, where music can be picked up, implying that this magazine is accessible to them.

I included a main cover line which conventionally links with the main story (which is on my double page spread). It takes up a large amount of the type face along with main cover line teller. The main cover line is the band name which is the main feature of this issue of the magazine. The teller, is to tell the audience that they are in the magazine for an ‘Exclusive Interview’ the word exclusive was included in order to say that it can only be accessed in this magazine.

My main image follows conventions of a magazine cover as it takes up most of the cover. Also conventional is that it is integrated to the masthead to which gives the effect the main image in front and is top in order of importance. This is because the power of images is greater than that of words as people can glimpse and identify what the magazine is all about which attracts them into the magazine as it more presentable to look at. If there was no image and all words the cover would be ugly and the magazine would not sell. My image is also conventional of music magazine at is of musical artists.

A convention of music magazines is to have a three part colour scheme to the cover. I have followed this convention as the colour scheme for my magazine is blue, black and white, I chose to follow this convention as I think that this makes the magazine cover more attractive and the cover is the main selling point of the magazine and institutions want sales in order to sell their magazine and make profit. In relation to profit I also added a barcode which is a convention for magazines created to make a profit, as most retailers in the UK use a barcode system in order to sell their products. Near the Barcode I included the price, I have put this near the barcode as this is conventional of magazines as people automatically look to the barcode to find the price of the magazine.

I also included the dateline and issue number of the magazine. This is conventional of magazines to put the date on so readers know which date the issue is for. The issue number is also conventional for people who like to make a collection of magazines. On the cover I included these again next to the barcode as people already know to look there to find them as it is conventional. Also putting them there is beneficial as it is does not ruin the attractiveness of the cover.

I included the web address, on each page of the magazine. This is becoming more and more conventional with time as the web is always developing and growing in popularity. Many people surf the web and may want to find out more information about the magazine, before buying or along with buying the magazine.

A convention I found of music magazines it to include images throughout the magazine to make each page interesting for the reader. Included the main image on the front cover, three pictures on the contents page and 2 on the double page spread. The images take up most of the pages they are on. This makes people want to read the pages as they are more attractive, and people are often reluctant to read a lot of text. A convention of magazines is to provide anchorage to all the pictures within the magazine. I have done this so people know what is going on the images and can find out what is going on a little amounts of words.

I have used graphology as codes throughout the magazine. The masthead is a different, modern and curvy and font which represents the genre in that it is an individual and modern genre. This font only occurs in the magazine as the magazine name. The font used throughout the magazine is a more square font which provides a comparison to the masthead however is still modern. This font creates a more computerised feel which is related to the bass in the music. It is also clear and easy to read. I used different fonts for each band featured in the magazine to show they are all individual bands.

Planning my magazine consisted of researching into the magazine industry. I went through and analysed the media texts, deconstructed them and then found what I believe was the magazines target audience. I then began by selecting my target audience and having selected a reader profile of my target. I then came up with names of cover lines, names of stories, bands, colour schemes for the magazine.

I then began by creating rough drawn drafts. I then thought about which would look best and which one I was going to use for the magazine. I then created an IT draft for each of the magazine pages, and then began creating them.

I first began creating the front cover of my magazine, I started by drawing drafts and then went on to create IT drafts. I then decided which one I think would work best and then went on to start creating the front cover. I then got audience feedback about the front cover and then on the back of this decided to change the cover. I began the process again of drawing drafts, then created an IT draft of the layout I wanted to create. I then began creating the cover again.

I then drew drafts for my contents page, but then in my IT draft decided to change the layout in order to improve it. I then began creating the contents page.

I did the same for my double page spread.

I began creating my text by taking images of the main artists featuring in my magazine with a digital SLR camera. I took many images in order to give me a range to choose from in order to get the best image. I then began to use Adobe Photoshop to create the magazine. I started off by creating the masthead and selling line. I then cut out the image of my musical artists from my main image and then integrated it with the masthead, I decided to get rid of the background from the original image as I do not believe that it suited the kind of genre my magazine is covering. So I created a background on Photoshop using the rectangle tool, created a pattern overlay and then a colour overlay, changing the opacity of both overlays to make them look like a background. I then added the main cover line using a different font and creating a stroke. I then added the rest of the cover lines, imported a barcode image, graphics and added information to complete my magazine cover.

I then moved onto the contents page. I took more pictures with a digital camera and used one image from the original images I had taken. I began by adding, a logo, the page title, issue number and issue date with a graphic to the page on Adobe Photoshop and added the same background as on the cover, just a more subtle colour to create a house style between the pages of the magazine. I then added 3 image to the contents page, I then added the page numbers to the image and added anchorage to the images. I then left the section on the right of the images to add story headings, sub-heading and page numbers and section to the regular pages, in a graphic.

I then finally created the double page spread. I decided to cut out a rather different image of ‘Robbie’ my model from the original images and placed it at the bottom middle of my double page. I then added the text from the front cover, but transformed it to make the text look more interesting. I also thought the page did not have enough going on so decided to add another image from the original images and placed it in the top right corner, however changed the opacity to not effect the look of the page. I then added a sub-heading under heading. I then added all the text to the page using bold for questions and normal for responses so it is easy to see which is which. I also added page numbers and web addresses, finally I added the house style background to the page.

I then put the image into Microsoft Office Publisher the DTP programme and printed out the magazine.

The language in my magazine was designed in order to engage with my target audience. The style was quite bright and interesting which meant that 16-35 year olds could relate to the magazine as they are younger people. The contents was all about the drum and bass and my magazine targeted drum and bass fans.

If my magazine was to be sold it could be sold by an individual institution that only produces magazine or could be sold by an institution that produces a range of media texts, it could be sold by music producers or a TV channel etc.

To record audience feedback I have carried out a short survey poll on my blog, allowing me to view the opinions and suggestions of the readers. However as I have only been able to collect other students to fill in the survey poll I only have an inaccurate view and only from students which don’t represent a large amount/variety of the audience.

Firstly I had posted a poll to record feedback of only my front cover first, using the poll I have found that 36% of people think my front cover is eye catching compared to the other 63% who don’t appeal to the front cover. I have also fount out what aspect of my magazine cover should be changed according to the audience’s opinions; 63% of people recommend I change the colour scheme, as 54% voted more towards the text, 72% thought the layout should be edited and 36% thought the cover lines should be changed.

I also had students vote on what colour would look more effective than the yellow background I had used for the masthead in my original copy of the front cover. Through doing this I have found; 58% prefer blue, 25% red, 8% green and also black and no one preferred purple or orange to be used because the majority of people chose blue this is why I decided to change my colour scheme from yellow to blue.

Using the poll I had also asked if the reader would rather see a magazine reasonably prices at £1.70 or see and increased price with less advertisement, what gender the reader would say is primarily targeted through my magazine, what age range the reader thinks my magazine is targeting and what genre of music the readers thinks my magazine is covering.

The Preliminary task was a simple and easy task for me to do. The main task however challenged my developing skills on Photoshop and make me considering thinking mainly about the audiences view rather than my own considering the main aim of my magazine is to attract the correct target audience.

To use Photoshop for the Preliminary task wasn’t difficult and less editing and management had to be done for the cover of the college magazine due to the magazine being a less detailed and containing a lack of information compared to the music magazine. To collect a large amount of images of people was mainly the beginning of my process to create my magazine.

The more music magazines I analyzed the more aware of the codes and conventions I had become, helping me apply these additional codes and conventions to develop my magazine and help it gain more of a professional appearance. Whereas when I was creating the college magazine I found there weren’t many conventions to follow therefore the cover page looked more simple and basic.

Textual analysis has helped me learn how to analyse my own magazine and applying LIIAR to my own magazine as well as other, which had become a new technique of improving my magazine.

Looking at other magazines had helped to be aware of what colour schemes are appropriate, suitable background and images which were relevant to the genre of the magazine. Aspects such as thinking of cover lines and masthead names and band names were my own ideas and other magazines and bands had no influence on creating names.

The main struggle in creating my music magazine has been the choices of colour schemes to use and what colours I can combine with the font of my magazine. In the beginning I chose to do my magazine in yellow, black and white however this needed to be changed as identified in my audience feedback. I think my new magazine colour scheme looks a lot better and I ended being happy with my overall magazine product. Another problem I had was getting the text right on Photoshop in the beginning my text was pixelated but second time around it was much sharper and clearer. I think that all areas of my magazine ended up going well and I am happy with the result. However if I was to do this again I would take new images, which are clearer and brighter. I would also get models who fit the genre a little better. As they look a bit subtle for the genre.

Completed Magazine Double Page Spread

This is the final stage of the magazine. In this stage I added anchorage to the images on the page this is to let people know what is happening in the image.

Stage Nine of Magazine Double Page Spread

In this page I added the same background to what I had added to the contents page. I also added in an arrow to show the interview continues at the other side of the page.

Stage Eight of Magazine Double Page Spread

In this stage I added the page numbers, magazine name and web addresses to the page. Which would appear on each page of the magazine except for the front cover

Stage Seven of Magazine Double Page Spread

I then added the rest of the interview to the page I had to do this in this stage in order to fit it around the graphics from the last stage.

Stage Six of Magazine Double Page Spread

I then added information about the interview and added an interesting quote from the page and put them in white boxes with opacity turned down again in order to add depth.

Stage Five of Magazine Double Page Spread

In this stage I added the first part of the interview to the double page. I had to do this in more than one stage as it was complicated to fit around the images.

Stage Four of Magazine Double Page Spread

I then added the sub-title of the page, 'This weeks Exclusive'. I added the word 'Exclusive' in red as it is the only word in read as though it is exclusive to the rest of the spread.

Stage Three of Magazine Double Page Spread

In this stage I added the second image to the page however on this image I reduced the opacity of the image in order for it to sink into the background not taking too much attention from the rest of the page. This also adds depth to the page making it more attractive.

Stage Two of Magazine Double Page Spread

I then added the heading of the double page spread, which in this case is the band name 'Thirteen Inch'. I ave kept the text for the band name the same colour and font from the front cover however I transformed the text in order to make it look a little more interesting as though it is coming from his head. I also added a shadow in order to make the page look a little more deep.

Stage One Magazine Double Page Spread

In this Stage I have Cut out a close up shot of one of the starring band member Robbie

Magazine Double Page Spread IT Draft

Here is my magazine double page spread layout draft.

1st Drawn Draft Magazine Double Page Spread

These are my first ideas for the magazine double page spread.

Final Stage of Magazine Contents Page

I then added the page numbers of the other features of the magazine. This completes my magazine contents page. I included numbers in blue to stand out from the headings and subheadings of the features. I chose to put the feature headings in a larger font than the subheadings to stand out and then draw attention to the story and then they can read the sub-heading for a little more information.

Stage Four of Magazine Contents Page

I then added some 'Regulars' that would appear in my magazine each issue. I chose to put this in a graphic to make this section recognisable and regular readers will know where to look to find these page numbers.

Stage Three of Magazine Contents Page

I then added some images on the contents page with captions and the page number the picture is referring to. This is so people will see the contents page see a picture they like and then visit that page.

Stage Two of Magazine Contents Page

I then added the background in which I used in my front cover, but only a more subtle shade of blue. I also added the page number and the web address for 'Beatwave'. So when if the magazine is left open on the floor readers could see it while connected to the internet and then go on to visit the web page.

First Stage of Magazine Contents Page

Here is the first Stage of my magazine contents page. I decided to keep a house style throughout the magazine. Therefore I kept the Blue from the masthead from the front cover and used it as the header of the contents. I then used the agency FB font I had used on the front cover to show that it is the contents page. In order to make the contents page look attractive I added a shadow to the title to make the contents look like it has more depth and look more interesting. I also added a graphic to the right of the title to make it look more attractive. I also chose to show the 'Beatwave' logo again on the contents page and chose to show it on the right of the title.

I added the issue number and date again as this is conventional of music magazines. I did not add any effects to the text of the date and issue number, as this bit is not what the attention should be focused on.

Magazine Contents Page IT Draft

Contents page layout draft.

1st Drawn Draft Magazine Contents Page

Here are the first two ideas I had for my magazine contents page.

Final Stage of Magazine Front Cover

In this stage I added a standard retail barcode. For shop sales. I also added the issue number and the issue date I also added the magazines web address. I chose to put this here to as it is in a conventional place which does not really ruin the attractiveness of the magazine face. The advantage of this being in a conventional position is that people know where to look straight away for the price of the magazine.

Stage Seven of the Magazine Front Cover

I then added the magazine Cover lines at the foot of the magazine. To do this I used a graphic again to draw attention and to make the magazine more exciting. I chose to do the footer bar in a grey colour so that bar itself sinks to the back and the cover lines stick out from the background. The cover lines at the foot are all the bands featuring inside, I have used a unique font for each to show that they are all unique bands as if to show as though they are band logos.

Stage Six of Magazine Front Cover

In this stage I added the other two cover lines. 'Top 50 modern beats' and 'money off D & B Festival Hull'. I chose to put the one of the cover lines into a circular graphic to make the magazine look more interesting which would help sell the magazine.

Stage Five of Magazine Front Cover

In this stage I added the main cover line and the main cover line teller to the magazine. I chose this font to be representative for the band 'Thirteen Inch' throughout my magazine as it is clear and quite modern and unique, which is to represent the uniqueness of the band and the genre of Drum and Bass itself. The teller however is the font shown throughout the magazine.

Stage Four of Magazine Front Cover

Here I added a background to my magazine front cover, this one looks a lot better than the one from the original image as it fits with the colour scheme. It is also better to fit with the genre, as it is a modern pattern and has more going on than that of the original image background, which is more relational to the exciting genre of Drum and Bass.

Stage Three of the Magazine Front Cover

In this stage I added the main image which I had cut out, from the original image, so I could integrate the main image with the masthead. I also thought that the background on the image was not suitable for a magazine of this genre.

Stage Two of Magazine Front Cover

In this stage I added the selling line. I chose this to go ust above the masthead to make it visible. This is also the font I will use thoughout the magazine. I have chosen to use this font as I believe it is quite representative of the genre of music. It is very modern looking and unique.

Stage One of Magazine Front Cover

I first began by creating the masthead. To do this I created a background for the masthead in blue which I had selected to be the new colour scheme, I used a shadow effect and a satin effect to add some dimension to the magazine. I then added the text saying Beatwave the name of my magazine. I chose to do this i chose this font as it is individual. It is eyecatching and inventive which reflects the style of music, which is a unique style. I chose blue as I think it would look the most effective and it was one of things the audience would like to see from my audience feedback.

Magazine Front Cover IT Draft

Here is the IT draft in the layout in which my magazine cover will follow.

Front Cover 1st Drawn Drafts

Here are my latest 4 drawn drafts for my new front cover.

More images

Here are some images I have taken in order to use on my magazine contents page.

Audience Feedback Front Cover

Here is the feedback from my polls which I added to by blog.

Do you think my front cover is eye-catching?

Yes 36%

No 63%

What do you think should be changed in my magazine cover?

Colour scheme 63%

Text 54%

Layout 72%

Coverlines 36%

What colour would look more effective than the yellow?

Blue 58%

Red 25%

Green 8%

Black 8%

Purple 0%

Orange 0%

From these results I think it is clear that changes should be made in order to make it more attractive to its audience.

From listening to this feedback and my own personal feedback I am going to change my magazine front cover. I have decided to change the layout and the colour scheme and also the fonts. I am going to make the cover a whole lot clearer and less pixelated.