Media Studies Evaluation of… Megan Howarth

1. IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT USE, DEVELOP, OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS?

The bold title at the top of the cover will draw attention to the eye of the reader. The font and typeface also shows the theme of blahhh! being girly and sophisticated at the same time. Also the underlining of the masthead will also draw attention to the reader as it will stand out, especially where it is in red. The main photograph with the white background means there is no distraction from the picture. This is a common convention of magazines. The barcode, date, price and website are hidden in the corner of the magazine. This is a common convention. The selling line slogan under the masthead will grab attention as it is talking about being number one. This will therefore interest people as it will be giving them the best information/gossip. On the left hand side of the cover I have added in information that is attached (anchored) to the picture. I also used the word “EXCLUSIVE” as a tag so that people would want to read on and know more. Throughout the magazine I have used a 3 way colour scheme; red, black and pink. This is so its keep the young sophisticated feminine look and has a clear brand identity. I have followed conventions like one main image, with coverlines, selling and taglines.

Similar music magazines such as Q magazine, Blurt and many more also use the convention of one person with writing down (coverlines) the side. Also they have chosen similar colours to the ones I have chosen. Big bold title at the top so it stands out from the rest Picture (MCU)of main artist down one side Writing introducing or telling you what's in side the magazine on one side so after you eye has been drawn to the picture you look at the writing to see what its about Headshot (CU) of artist coming from the right hand side of the cover Bold title of artists name to emphasis who the magazine main page is going to be about. If this artist interests you, you would buy the magazine Promotional offers Giving you a list of artists names who are featuring in the magazine and the sort of thing you will hear about them, in this case “interviews”. This is to attract the reader.

A common convention within magazines is the use of a 1 or 2 images. I have used more than this amount therefore challenging the normal convention. I have also used microphones and artists in the photos so it looks like a music magazine. Using writing around the photos using common conventions like page numbers. I have also stuck with the “girly” theme by using hearts and keeping the writing white is more of a girls colour than boys. I have also used the same font throughout the page to keep a common theme going. I have used the technique of white on black to create my piece. This is to keep it simple along with the pictures that will stand out because of there bright colours. I have used a subtitle to let people know what is happening throughout the magazine and what they should expect. The title “Contents” is in same typeface and in big at the top of the page for the readers eye. Although they would understand it is common that you have this feature on your magazine.

I have used bright coloured photographs so that they would stand out on the black background. I have also used the two small images on the 2 nd page and a big picture on the 1 st page. The images also have a homely feel as they are very casual and I wanted to keep that theme throughout on the pictures. Having photographs on the pages are also normal conventions in a magazine. I have used a big title at the top to introduce the artist. This will also make it easier for the reader to find the page they are looking for as it has a bold title. I also kept to the font and kept it girly so they can understand more who it is about. I used connotations of music with the microphone. This shows how she is a singer and sticks with the theme of music within the magazine. I used a black on white theme. This is so the images on the pages would stand out and also I was keeping with a casual theme to the magazine. This also meant I could play around with colours for the writing such as using the red in the quotation so it would stand out. I used a normal convention of a magazine with putting in a quotation from the passage the reader is going to read. Also to make it stand out I also put it in a different colour as it would firstly draw their eye to it so they would want to read the whole passage.

2. HOW DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT REPRESENT PARTICULAR SOCIAL GROUPS?

blahhh! represents young teenage girls, as from the front cover you can connote that it is a feminine magazine by the photograph that is shown on the cover, the title of the magazine and also the covers such as pinks and reds and also the animation of the hearts on the magazine cover. I used fashion as well as music to attract the female readers. I used a similar pose to the one of Madonna on the front of Q magazine as I thought that it stood out and I liked the way it had been photographed as a medium close up so I photographed for my magazine in the same form, this is to catch the attention of the reader. Also the writing on the magazine is rather “girly” because of the colour along with the typeface that has been used “Script MT bold” as it has the swirly affect which I feel has a girly feel to it. The pink/red colours of the writing and patterns on the cover also have a stereotypical girly look. I also feel that how the writing has been placed and shown that it is also classy for a young teenage girls magazine. The girl on the front cover shown is also a young teenage girl showing the teenage feel to the magazine and the sort of audience it will attract. Masthead and Subtitle of the magazine in girly colours (red/pink) Swirly writing introducing the artist with the words in red.

I have taken inspiration from the magazine Q with the front cover of Madonna, even though it is targeted at a much older reader. When producing my own front cover I have changed and edited my front cover to make it different although kept it similar still with the conventions. Differences: Madonna has a more grungy popstar look Madonna is older and more experienced with her photos Madonna is more covered up as she is showing the more older person More writing on the Q magazine and freebies shown Similarities: Similar hairstyles and lots of facial expressions from both Similar pose’s as they are both from the side and produced on the cover from the right and close up photographs Same colour scheme with the red and bold titles and writing about the artists in bold Also Q has a slogan saying “Britain's biggest music magazine”

I also took inspiration from Blurt magazine which has a very simple, minimalistic look with one main image (MCU) and one main coverline. The background is plain with mainly pink baloons and ‘Jenny Lewis’ in pink

3. WHAT KIND OF MEDIA INSTITUTION MIGHT DISTRIBUTE YOUR MEDIA PRODUCT AND WHY?

Publishing Companies Publishing companies publish literature, newspapers, magazines and other types of information whatever form they may come in. Publishing is the production process of prints, graphics, editing etc of each piece of work. Work will be accepted by a distributing company for example, Bauer Media, NatMags and more and will then represent your magazine in the publishing stages and getting your magazine onto the shelves in shops. You then have to sort out a contract to see how much the publishing company gets for your magazine and how much you will get depending on how much is sold.Bauer MediaNatMags My Distributor For blahhh! as it is a mainstream magazine, a major magazine producer such as NatMags because there is a space within their industry as they do not have a music magazine within their company and also they don’t have any magazines that are for the young teenage age group. Although the main interest of NatMags is more fashion/lifestyle magazines my magazine also has the class they would be looking for along with the bright front cover to attract the readers eye such as there other magazines like Reveal and Best. The only problem with my magazine would have to be that it only features British Bands whereas their other magazines feature many different countries.

4. Who would be the audience for your media products?

The target audience for blahhh! is teenage girls from about most likely to be students within High School. I have kept a theme throughout which is a “girly” theme choosing the fonts and pictures with care so it would appeal to the teenage category. I used a font from which includes the hearts and swirly writing, this will therefore attract the teenagers when they take a first glance at the magazine. Although the writing is girly it is still sophisticated because of the way it has been used within the magazine. The sparse front cover with only one big picture on will also grab there attention because of the star shown on the front “StarGirl” and only one bit of writing, this will make them want to read more and therefore buying the magazine. Also the read of the magazine such as the double page spread interview sounds very mature and will make the younger teenagers mature quicker with the help of role models for them. The colours in the magazine also show how it would be teenage girls and not boys. The pinks, reds and whites used show the girl theme and will attract them, whereas for boys it would be seen as “gay” to read something like this because of the colours. Everything shown on the front cover and throughout the magazine have a feminine touch. Older magazines to my teenage version

5. How did you attract/address your audience?

I used bold titles and a slogan at the top of the page to attract teenage girls. I used a teenage name “blahhh!” because I thought it would attract the teenage girls, also where the colour scheme had red in it I thought this would also look good and stick with the “girly” theme. I also used hearts to keep with the “girly” theme but wanted to keep it sophisticated aswell. I used the word “EXCLUSIVE” and put it in red so that it would stand out and be bold. I also kept it short and sweet so that people would want to read on and buy the magazine. My magazine attracts young teenage girls aged and I have used fashion more than props to relate to the audience, although I have used a headphone/microphone to relate to music. Also where I have used a younger teenage girl it will also relate to them more and they will be able to understand more about the life of the artist. Also many teenage girls would look up to her and try to be like her. I also used minimal cover lines on my front cover so that it doesn’t give away to much information. Also where I have used a similar front cover to Q magazine with Madonna on, all I have done is make a younger teenage version which the magazine industry has room for. I have also used a “girly” colour scheme; pink, red and white with a little black, as for young teenage girls this would be a selling point. Also the sort of artist that it is will also attract the readers.

Throughout my magazine I have used language suitable for a young audience. In the double page spread I used words that appeal to a young reader. I also did it in the style of a interview and know my readers would enjoy this, finding out about a young star. It’s a very chatty, informal style e.g. “oh right”. The images are all of the young singer and she is dressed in pink (connotes a young female audience).

6. WHAT HAVE YOU LEARNT ABOUT TECHNOLOGIES FROM THE PROCESS OF CONSTRUCTING THIS PRODUCT?

In the process of making the magazine I have learnt a lot. In the preliminary task I used Microsoft word and didn’t use any technology processes on the computer like Photoshop or publishers. This is because at that stage in the production I didn’t know how to use them. I was also using “word art” to produce the writing in my school magazine. This meant you couldn’t read my writing clearly on the front cover so for my final music magazine I had to learn how to use technologies such as Photoshop on the computer to construct my music magazine. For my music magazine I had learnt how to use Photoshop so I could make sure my piece would be produced to a high standard, also so I could have more choice of what to use and make the piece look better and more professional. To produce my final front cover of my music magazine I used Photoshop to complete my picture and put in a white background using the magic wand tool so that it would be clear the background and then I could put in the white background I wanted. This would therefore make the background clear so that I could add in my writing. I then used Microsoft word to add in the writing using textbox but also used a website to produce my masthead so it was bolder and it had the girly affect to stick with the theme of my magazine. I also intended to use a blog for my production but the school has blocked these so I did it as a portfolio and produced the evaluation using Powerpoint.

For my final production of my magazine, I used Photoshop to produce a white background on the photography. As you can see from the two pictures instead of having a stone background I have a plain white one so I can put writing on top and it will show up well. The white background also makes the artist stand out more. This means you can see the colours more and would be able to see the writing more. As this would happen it would then attract the audience members you want because of the bright colours and the fonts that have been added to the picture.

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

I think that my preliminary task looks very amateur compared to my final music magazine. This is because my school magazine is just the original photograph and just a normal text box with a bland font. With my final music magazine for the main task I have used Photoshop to change the image and also I have used different more stylish fonts to produce a higher standard of work and so it looks more professional. Also I have produced higher work when producing my contents page and double page spread. I have done this by using better fonts to suit the theme and also adding in images so people have something to look at and interest them.

Feedback Comments Here’s some feedback from my facebook page: Much improved with a minimalistic cover I keep saying the name! Is she for real? Nice font used for the title The cover’s a bit too bare, add some more cover lines and a competition or freebie Some more practice on Photoshop would help!