Evaluation of Music Magazine

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

My magazine does not follow the typical conventions of a magazine, usually the headlines are placed along the left hand side of the page. Mine however is focusing on one major story and this is the selling point of the magazine, so the words and centered on the page for full effect and exposure. To ensure I have a house style I have confined my magazine to three colours, yellow, black and white throughout the magazine. I also used three fonts so not

to crowd the pages and make it confusing to read.

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? What social groups are you representing? (Audience and subjects of the magazine)

This is the front cover for my music magazine, i decided to stay away from the traditional layout for magazine, in order to make mine stand out from the crowd. I took the photo of the band 'aim and fire' and used that as the only image on the cover as the issue contains an exclusive feature on them. The image coupled with the boldly placed strap-line shows that this issue is all about them. I have used the colours black and yellow as they are very contrasting and when paired can make the information i want stand out perfectly. My magazine is designed to appeal to the indie music scene, this is evident through the clothes worn in the photograph, and the bands featured in the magazine are part of that scene also. The name i feel also fits into that scene as it coincides with a lot of 'indie' bands taking on a military themed style recently, and it also feels british, which is where this scene is thriving.

This is my music magazine contents page, I have stuck to the same colour scheme as i have throughout the magazine, I feel this is my weakest page as it looks really plain, in retrospect i would have changed the background colour to make it seem fuller. My contents page is laid out like any other magazine, with the important information on the right-hand-side, this is so the reader has no problem finding what they look for. To help with this, I have split the information up into section, 'news', 'reviews' and 'live' so to make it even simpler. The image is of the band featured on the front cover during a live performance, this is to give the magazine more credibility and to show that they are involved in the music scene and do go to the shows rather than just write about albums from an office.

This is the double page spread for my music magazine, I decided to do an interview with the band featured throughout the magazine. I have stuck to the same colour scheme as the other pages and the same font type, with the exception of the writing in red. I decided to change it to something that would stand out in order to highlight certain areas. To make the font fit the subject matter of touring I chose a font that looks like blood splattering and i coloured it red, this is to make the tour seem grimy and rough, to show that the band is not polished and is one of there target audience. I laid images out on the right hand side to look like a film strip, so to feel closer to the on-the-road atmosphere. The left hand page is a full black and white image of a member of the band, I feel that this is a good title page to introduce the features on the band. I added the yellow border around the right hand page to highlight the photo section and to continue with the use of my house style.

Music magazine photographs

I took a low angle shot of the band 'aim and fire', i did this to get closer to them and show to emotion on the singers face.

The next few images are publicity style shots for the same band.

For this first image I did not direct them in any way, so what the viewer see is the band members being themselves and playing around, this make them seem more down to earth and so to appeal to their audience.

This shot was directed, but i wanted it to look spur of the moment, i feel i achieved that look. The person in the center looks bemused as to why he's being laughed at, again it creates a sense of friendship and camaraderie.

for the final shot, I set the camera to a fast shutter speed and rather luckily got this shot of him spread out in the air, whilst bouncing on a trampoline.

Music magazine planning

Evaluation of college magazine

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


I have ensured a house style exists in my magazine, to do this is have only stuck to a select group of fonts. I did this so that the information does not look messy or complicated, also using a select font means that it will become associated with that magazine at become part of its public identity and image so that when readers see that font they will automatically recognise it and their mind will jump to the magazine that it goes with.
Also throughout the pages I created I stuck with the same colour scheme, black and yellow, so that the important pieces of information are recognisable and that readers will use these colours as a guide and will know that a yellow piece of writing is a heading that guides you through the rest of the magazine.
My decision on layout was in part driven by sticking to the conventions of magazines, where the headers are written on the left hand side, and in part by the photo I used on the front cover. The person in my shot is on the right of the page and headers on the right would overshadow her instead of anchoring her into the cover itself as they do on the left.


2. How does your media product represent particular social groups? What social groups are you representing? (Audience and subjects of the magazine)

My magazine tries to appeal to college students, whom whilst concentrating on their studies also like to have fun. I have done this by combining the text, which is information about the college and activities that is necessary to know, and a photo that shows a college student laughing and smiling. On the front cover the writing is quick headlines about what is happening at the college and important events that students would want to know about. My magazine is aimed at a specific college so this is appropriate to its target audience. The photo on the cover is of a student throwing leaves into the air and smiling whilst doing so. This once again shows the age group that my magazine is targeted at and also is seasonal to the release date of the issue.


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

College magazine contents page

This is the contents page for my college magazine, like the front cover this was created in photoshop CS4. The banners were made using the shape tool, and I changed the colour of the text on top of them to yellow so that they stood out more. I don't like this page as it is very plain and in retrospect I should have added a photo to make it more interesting to look at.

college magazine front cover

This is the front cover for my college magazine, I created it in photoshop CS4. I started with the background image that I took in class. I then added the black shapes along the sides, and entered text on top of them, I used yellow for the text so that it stands out and catches peoples eyes. I then designed a logo for the magazine by playing with the text settings in photoshop, I also made this yellow so it stands out from the background image. Afterwards I added a barcode and the date of release to make the magazine seem more realistic and authentic. I like my front cover and I think the layout is pleasing to look at and it is organised, the colour scheme works and does not overpower any aspect but whilst still standing out in their own right.