Evaluation- Music magazine project
My media project is a music magazine, its subgenra is Christian youth music. I have conformed to the key conventions of a music magazine including:
Ÿ Title (masthead)
Ÿ Main image
Ÿ Date
Ÿ Website
Ÿ Issue number
Ÿ Bar code
Ÿ Page references
I have tried to make my magazine as realistic as possible, so that it would look like a real magazine the you could buy due to these conventions.
From my feedback it shows that my magazine works and creates the image that I was after and that appeals to the desired youth audience, my research also showed that from a quick glance you can tell it is a Christian music magazine, ‘REVIVAL’ is very significant as it is a christian word, and the image is obviously for a music magazine as it features my main artist palying the guitar, he also has some drums behind him and some head phones purposely placed to create a studio look.
It is vital to make the product identifiable for the audinene in order for them to want to read and buy it. An example of this is that I Have dressed my artist in smart, fashionable and casual clothes, the sort of things I would imagine my audience wearing and aspiring too. I have also featured popular bands on my front cover and in my contents page, I hve done this so that the audience will have someone who the already know and so that they now what to expect from the remainder of the magazine.
My magazine challenges the convention of other Christian magazines as they are usually general interest magazines, for example one magazine I have studied is relevant magazine which has features such as, charity adds, clothes companies and other things not relevant to music. Mine is simply a music magazine. I have included different genres of music, I did this in order to attract a wider audinece.
My front cover fit’s the relevant codes and conventions as it includes the masthead which I have appropriately named, “ REVIVAL” this is important as it can mean, “ the recoming of the Lord” which is an important aim for Christians. This also sets the tone for the magazine from the outlet. I have chosen to the th emast head in a bold and clear font to attract the audience. I have also included a tag line, “ God, Life and Progressive culture” Once again this shows what my target audience will be. Its an easier way of recognising the genre of the magazine and it is ideologies which are promoting christian values. I have added simple things such as, the date, website and issue number. All these things help to make my magizine more realistic.
I feel that the main image I have used for cover has worked really well as it shows my main artist Samuel Tranter playing the guitar. The clothes he is wearing and the way he is styled is important to attracting my desired audience. The image of Samuel sititng on the floor the background Is light and the bold coloures of the guitar really stand out. The main image is taken from above at a high angle facing down towards him. I placed some drums and a amplifier behind him to imply the music subgenera of the magazine. The tittle date, issue number and subheadings are all codes and conventions hat make my magazine more realistic. On my maine image I wabted my artsit to look serene in order to set the scene for the magazin and it christian content.
On my contents page I have used the same bold font style as onb the front cover this helps to keep a visual theme running throughoput the magazine and shows continuity, I have tried to make the page numbers clear to make it easy to locate chosen opages. I have kept my content page simple, I have used just one large image for my background andf have lisetd the maine features on my contents page in large and simple font. I have used bold text throughout.
I have based my double paged sprewad on young local muscincan Samuel Trancer who has been inspired by god to do more with his talents. He tellsd REVIVAL all about his future plans, he talks, Faith, touring and new project.” My main image on my double page spread is ST, I have cut the image out using Photoshop and Indesingn on the Mac, I did this so that the image would stand out and be less destracting for the audience.
I have focused on red as the main colour as the double paged spread. I feel this works very well as it is bright and bold and is suitable for both sexs, red is alos attractive to the eye and will hopefully attact the audiences attention as the rest of the magazine is quite dark and simples.
Once again I have decided to stick with the same font in order to creat continuity and a keep a visual theme running through out.
From my product it shows that my magazine focuses on young males and is much more male orientated. I also found this from my questionnaire. This is shown by the main character and also from the bands I have featured. The magazine is aimed at more younger, fashionable people. This is aimed at a more specific target audience rather than your avreage teen and the would also have to have a interesrt in Christian music and perhaps a vision on fashion. I fele that the magazine represents itself and young people of today in a postivie way showing young people to be doing good things in the world and that they are all not members of gangs and thug cultures.
In a lot of ways my magazine is quite minimalist and accessible. Alos due to its production values being lower than main stream magazines because of lower cover price and advertising revenue my magazine would more likely be bought through subscribtion and not off the shelves.
The primary audience for my magazine would be young Christians, which would consist of the social economic group E which is mainlt made up from students. However there would be a secondary audience which would be Christians who enjoy the music but may be of an older generation. This would consist mainly consist of social groups C and D.
Some of the questions I asked in my questionnaire, “ Who would buy this magazine?” and, “ Would you buy this magazine?” the results I got was that it would mainly target the younger audience, this is a welcome audience because they may have more disposable income and money to spend on such things as magazines. My product gained a psitive reactiopn from my target audince. They said it would be the type of magazine that they would buy as the front cover is catching and includes bands they would be interested in.
My title is very important to my magazine as it is the first thing they will see and it gives themn the ideology that it is a Christian magazine. The image in my fornt cover shows the artists versatility. I have used low key lighting, I used a single lamp to create this effect, this also gives a good shadow effect. I have tried to use the image on my front cover to set the scene for the rest of the magazine. It shows the genre and prepares the audience for what is to come in the rest of the magazine, for example the music style and other Christian events coming up. I have chosen to use reds and oranges as my main colour palate because they stand out well. I have also stuck to using simple colours such as black and white so it is easy on the eye this creates a juxtapostition. The subheading on the front page makes you want to read on and find out more about the artisit. I have used a variety of articles and genres of music. I did this so that there would be something for everyone and have used a simple layout so it is accessible. On my double page spread I have conformed to the normal codes and conventions whilst also trying to keep it simple. I have used enlarged quotations from Samuel himself. I have used on the article to read the full story in detail as people are usually drawn in by headings.
I have used different types of technology to produce my final product. I used Google and other well known search engines to aide with my research. I looked at similar magazines to mine such as, “RLEVANT” and “CCM” these gave me good ideas, I have also used a blog to keep a track of my research and what I am doing. I used DTP software, Indesign by Adobe and also Photoshop produced by the same company. I learnt how to use the still cameras correctly, I investigated what work best when tacking my photographs which I the discovered would work best working in a portrait form in order for them to fit on my front cover correctly.
Looking back at my preliminary task it looks very armature and boring, but since then I have performed more research of similar and real text so my final product looks much more realistic. I have improved my skills relating to the software in order to create more realistic pages. I have also discovered a font website called, www.dafont.com, this is where I sourced my fonts from.
Looking at my final product I am very pleased as it looks like a real magazine, especially when compared to my preliminary task. I paid much more attention to detail and house style.
However if I was to redo this task I would think about making changes to my contents page, I do like the large I have used but would think about including more photographs related to articles.
Overall I am very pleased with the outcome of my magazine along with the front cover, contents page and double spread.
