Evaluation Question 7

7.Looking back at your preliminary task (the school magazine task), what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to full product?

Comparing the two magazines, my final piece definately looks more professional than the prelim. The subheadings on the final seem less cheesy than that on the prelim. I also think the colour scheme looks alot better as the yellow and red on the black backround looks alot better.

Even though the music magazine looks better, overall i think the layout of my music magazine looks more attractive than my prelim.

Evaluation Question 6

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

The Software which i used in for my magazine was Adobe Photoshop. As this was the design software available in college. As i knew the programme quite well before the coursework, it made it easier for me to add effects my magazine.

I also used Microsoft Publisher to make my double page spread, as this programme made it easier to add text in collumns to my magazine interview.

I used a Nixon SLR camera to take the pictures during my photoshoot

I also used my own laptop to complete my double page spread whilst at home.

Using photoshop i could edit my photos so they were suitable for use in publisher, i used such effects like the spot healing brush, to remove any blemishes on the photos. I could also add in a different backround to make the photo fit in with the dark theme of the magazine.

Evaluation Question 5

How did you attract/address your audience?

Evaluation Question 4

Who Would Be The Audience For Your Media Product?


The main audience for my music magazine would be 15-20 year old males, as they are the main age group which listen to the heavier rock genre. There would be alot less female consumers as the main music genre for females is pop/rock. With magazines such as Blender.

Evaluation Question 3

What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
After researching media companies, i found out that Bauer Media produced Kerrang and Mojo, When looking at magazine prices i found out they they cost:

Kerrang : £2.20
Mojo : £4.50

This is the Bauer Media Groups homepage,

I would choose Bauer Media to produce my magazine, because they operate all over europe in 15 countries, another reason why i would choose Bauer Media, is because they are a well respected, reliable company.

The main source of income for Music magazines is the advertisment which are positioned throughout the magazine.

Classified advertising are ads usually placed at the back of the magazine, eventhough they take up little space they are very expensive for the client which makes big profit for magazines.

Evaluation Question 2

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

I chose this NME front cover to compare with my magazine, as there are some similarities between the two.

Similarities:

I noticed that in both photos the people on the front cover are both giving eye contact to the reader which i have noticed on several different magazines. This directly addresses the reader, which makes it more likely to be picked up by the consumer. I also noticed similar clothing between the two, in sense that they are wearing a casual type of clothing. Also from both of the photos, you can see they have both been taken in a studio, which gives a more cleaner and plain backround. This makes the people on the front cover stand out more.

Differences :

From the two images, you can see that the different musicians are taken from a different genre of music. With NME's showing an indie/rock style. Whereas mine shows a heavier rock/metal style of music.

Evaluation Question 1

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

Below are a variety of screenshots taken from my magazine front cover and contents page.

Title - For the title of my magazine 'Thrash', i decided to use a bold and grungy styled font which is called Farcry, as i feel it is very similar to Kerrang, as i feel this is very eye-catching and suits the genre of the magazine.

Setting/Location - For my photo, on the front cover i used the colleges studio as the plain white backround was very easy to create into a dark backround using photoshop. As my chosen text colours are well suited to dark colours.

People - For my 'poster' photos, i used pictures which were took at a concert. Which is very similar to NME's choice of photos, which adds a more genuine look to the front cover.

Layout - I decided to make my front cover very similar to the style of Kerrang magazine. As i feel it is the most eye-catching and creative. Some ideas i used, was to bring the title to the back which made the person on the front cover stand out more. I also placed the list of bands featured in the magazine in a 'plus' section at the bottom of the page.



Music Genre - My magazine showcases a rock/metal sytle of music, which Kerrang chooses to show. The way the magazine suggests the genre is by the Title 'Trash' which suggest a heavy metal genre of music. Also on the front cover it mentions the download festival, which is a well know rock/metal festival in the U.K.



Costume - For the main photo on the front cover, i tried to gain a more casual look, in which i used a grey hoodie and jeans. Which i thought was quite similar to this Kerrang front cover.

Finished Double Page

For my double page spread, i decided to do an interview with 'frontman' on the band showcased on the magazine front cover. To add some variety, i also decided to add an album review section in the lower right corner of the page. I feel this makes the interview a bit for different than the usual magazine double page spreads, seen in Kerrang and NME for example.

Finished Contents Page

Again, looking at the NME and Kerrang contents pages, i decided to use the same colours and design of fonts, to match the front cover. I also used a similar layout as NME , by using the 'Band Index' collumn on the left and the subheadings on the right. I found this layout to be the most effective as a contents page as it is easy to read and more attractive to the consumer.

Finished Front Cover

Some of my inspirations for my front cover design are 'Kerrang' and 'NME', as i feel their front cover ideas are very eye-catching and creative, using a variety of fonts and colours to attract consumers. They also showcase posters which are avaidable in the magazine on the front cover, as i really liked this idea i used it on my front cover.

Font Ideas

These are some font ideas, which could be used as the style for my front cover title. Looking at magazines like Kerrang, they use more 'grungy' type fonts for the text. From the select few above, you can see some of the fonts are more eye-catching than others, this may affect the front covers appeal to consumers.

Print Research

The Kerrang magazine's front cover is very eye-catching, as it has a variety of fonts, photos and bright colours, which make it appealing for consumers. I will try to recreate this style when doing my coursework, as i think this design is very unique and creative.


The NME magazine shows a different style of music than Kerrang and you can see alot of differences between the two front covers. As you can see, the Kerrang magazine has alot more pictures on the front cover, which will make it more appealing for consumers to pick up. Also the NME magazine seems alot more 'neater' which could make it seem more formal. Looking at both magazines i prefer the Kerrang magazine, as it contains a wide variety of fonts and images, which makes it more attractive.

Prelim Contents Page