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EVALUTATION
Q1. In what way does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My Front Cover
Each music magazine will have a clear definition of it's reader and how they fit into the global music industry markey. For my product I aimed to create a pop music magazine for older teenage girls (15+). By research of exisiting magazines, I could begin to access information about my target audience, magazine genre styles and general magazine contents. This allowed me to make editorial decisions such as design principles, mode of address and the balance of promotion and critique.
The front cover of a music magazine can be distingushed from other magazines by the specific artist or band featured may attract particular readers.
Whilst researching exsisting pop music magazines front covers I saw key characterics such as:
The cover image is using direct eye contact for connection with the reader. Either the artist is smiling to welcome the reader with a fresh face or depending on the type of artist they could pose with a serious face suggesting feistiness.
Most of the magzines use pink on the front cover which suggests it's for a teenage girl's audience.
The house styles are usually brightly coloured to attract readers.
Mainly font is bold. Some highlight with a different coloured box behid it so peices of information can stand out and been seen straight away. Bits of font are relaxed (like handwriting) to be more informal with the reader.
Shapes such as circles and rectangles are used to serperate and split the page into sections. It gives structure to the magazines.
How have I included some pop magazine characterics into my front cover?
Starting off looking at my masterhead. It is a modern, bold, black font with a orange glow to make it lift from the background, It is spread across the top of the page and infront of the image. Above the masterhead there is a rectangle which is horizontal. If you look at the magazine 'Top of the Pops' you can see their masterhead is also postitioned across the top above the image and below a pink rectanglur strip.
Secondly, the cover image is a headshot of a girl being very simley. Looking at 'We heart Pop' I liked the image of Jessie J. The slight tilt of her head, direct eye contact and big smile really makes the cover stand out. I wanted to go for a similar look so that the audience feels engaged and invited. Also the cover star is female to emphaise the fact that it is a magazine for teenage girls.
Next, I placed the barcode in the bottom right corner of the front cover. I got the idea from the magazines 'We heart Pop' and 'Q'. I thought this way the barcode isn't drawing in too much attention and taking up too much space. Plus, by having it on my front cover it makes it have a professional feel.
Moreover, I wanted a strip at the bottom of the front cover to reveal more to the readers on is included in the magazine. 'we heart pop' has used the same technique to show off their 10 posters inside. In my opinion, this is a great way to show off more features of the magazine to the reader without squashing it around the sides.
Finally, I located most of my text on the left side of the page expect from one circle, just like the magazine 'Billboard'. This allowed the readers to follow the page better as it is more structured, as well as this it means the reader can fully see the image as text isn't crowded.
My Contents Page
Whilst researching exsisting pop music magazines contents pages I saw key characterics such as:
Some have advertisments to subscribe to that magazine. This is basically self promotion and reminding the reader of subscribing.
Magazines normally list there page titles in a column. This gives the page structure, however in other magazines it can be done more creatively. For example, using images to display what wll be on each page.
Another feature of contents pages is an editors note. Some magazines use this as a way of bringing more personality into the magazine and a way for the editor to give their opinions on the issue.
Most likely, every magazine's contents page will have a range of different pictures. A popular way to display these pictures are by boxing them in a neat patterm.
How have I included some pop magazine characterics into my conetents page?
Firstly, the list of page titles on my contents page is down the left side, with black rectangles to undeline each section. Comparing that to 'Kerrang' and 'Q' contents page I have used nearly the same kind of concept. This creates a structure to the page and the reader has no problem finding the pages they're most interested in.
The rest of my contents page is serperated by different sized boxes. 'we heart pop' as well as 'Q' contents page uses the same technique. It is a rather modern layout for a contents page.
My editors note in the bottom right corner is extra to make the magazine look more professional. 'Kerrang' also has a editors note. I added a picture of myself (the editor) as well as a signurature to make it look more realistic.
Finally, I have advertised to subscribe to the magazine in the bottom left corner. I have included an image of front cover in the same box because when looking magzines such as Kerrang' they show images of other issues they have done to show off what you get when you subscribe.
My Double Page Spread
Whilst researching exsisting pop music magazines double page spreads I saw key characterics such as:
Most magazines have a central image that takes up on side of the double page spread. Normally, it is the person the article or interview is about
There is also serval smaller images that are on the bottom, down the side or in the middle of the text. This is added to the safe to show the reader more and split the page up.
There is always a introductory line before the interview/article to tell the reader what to expect.
Usually, the main body of text is usually a interview or article. Mainly featuring information about the artists tour, love life etc.
Some magazines have a quote from the artists at the top of the page. This grabs the reader and makes them want to find out more.
During the article or interview some have pull quotes included. This is where a certain bit of information which the artist has said is highlighted so it stands out.
Firstly, I have used a large image of the cover star on the right side of the page like the double page spread featuring Nicki Minaj. The text fits around the image to make the page flow. Many other magazines use the same technique of using a large picture of the artist the text is about to split the page up and make it more visual.
On my double page spread I have included horzontal rectangles to structure the page and make the readers eye flow across the page leading the onto something else. The double page spread featuring Justin Beiber also uses rectangles across the page to link the picture and the text together.
In the top right of my double page spread there is a quote from the body text which Mel has said. If you look at the double page spread featuring Cher Lloyd and Justin Beiber they also have a quote at the top.
Moreover, I have included both article and interview on my double page spreas. It has question about tours, love life, family life etc. When looking at other magzines the mostly have the same kind of focus; getting all the juicy bits of information the reader want to hear.
I have used 2 pull quotes during my double page spread. I have placed them in the middle of the columns with a orange rectangle behind them. Looking at the magazine featuring 'the teenagers' they have also included pull quotes centered in the middle of two columns.
How have I included some pop magazine characterics into my double page spread?
How have I challenged forms and conventions of real exisiting magazines?
To start off with, I have chosen a very different colour scheme including the colours orange, dark blue, black and white . Normally, for a music magazine they prefer bight bold yellows, pinks and reds (especically if the target audience is girls). However, I have choosen colours which is unexpected for a music magazine, even though they are contrasting they do not stand out aganist the image in my opinion and if I was to do this task again maybe would have choosen gender specific colours to suit my target audience. With saying this, I do think the colours make the magazine look modern. Also, I have included 4 fonts throughout the magazine, normally magazines stick to 2 or 3 because it shows consistency however I thought including bold, thick fonts as well as handwriting type fonts I could use it to show the reader more personal parts of the magazine by informal, curly handwrting fonts to more trying to get the readers attention, big, bold, clean cut fonts.