Evaluation of My Media Product FINAL

Evaluation of My Media Product –

The Music Magazine

         I think that my front cover uses conventions well and mixes this with some unconventional ideas in order to create what is, in my opinion a successful and eye catching magazine and magazine cover. Like the NME magazine, I have used a masthead which is bold, simple and large but however it does not go over the image at all which I think helps the whole page sit together a lot better that it would have does if the lettering did overlap the image. I have used a left third rather than both thirds of the page unlike the NME magazine because I thought that doing that would mean that the magazine would start to look cluttered and overpopulated, which is how I think the NME looks and also it drags a lot of focus away from the actual image.

I have located the barcode, quite conventionally and conveniently, in the bottom left corner so that it is out of the way of the main image and therefore is not obstructing the image and also because consumers always look for the barcode around here. Also located near here are the date and price, which is also conventional because date and price are always with the barcode so that any information like this is stored in the same place. I have also located the date and price just below the masthead, like on the NME because it helps the consumer to see important information like the price and dating of the magazine so that they don’t buy an older one without realising and also so that they don’t overpay for it. The magazine is priced at £2.00 which I think is a fair price and conventional for the amount of content a consumer would receive and also for a consumer to pay because it is weekly, considering that NME (also weekly)  is priced at £2.40 and Q which is monthly is at £4.50 which reflects the quality because it is printed on better paper and has a lot more content, NME however is printed on thinner paper which is not of as good quality and has less content because it comes out weekly.

The main title/main coverline “GoldHeart” is just below and to the right of the centre of the page because it leaves the image clear and unencumbered as well as the left third which I think helps it to look more refined with some finesse rather than a cramped, badly structured magazine cover. Also by doing this it means that when the magazines are stacked, the thirds of the magazine will be visible even if behind other magazines which will attract more readers, it could be argued however that in the modern age this is not needed because a lot of people may just download it to their phone/iPad or any other digital medium but I still think it needs the thirds to make it look more like a magazine. This is conventional because it allows for better use of available space but also it means that it still stands out on the magazine and does draw the eye more than any of the other coverlines on my magazine. I have used the left third to display the rest of my coverlines because it keeps the whole image neat, unlike the above NME which is overcrowded whilst still showing some of the more important articles effectively to the customer, and catching their eye. I used white for both the masthead and the cover lines in order to give it a fresh feel and a sense of new while I used red with an orange splash behind it because they work together well harmoniously and also I think the red in a way romanticizes it like NME would do for folky indie bands like Florence and the Machine or Gabriella Cilmi who I would say are similar to GoldHeart. The skyline I have used is conventional because it goes over the top of the main image and also is conventional because it states simply the bands/artists who are included in the magazine rather than describing one story.

Instead of having a conventional splash/puff where a star is used or something brighter and more eye catching because I think something like that may make the magazine look tacky and unrefined, and at the minute in magazine publishing it is both fashionable and conventional to give off a refined and clear, clean look. I think that by using a parallelogram behind the writing saying “+ win tickets for the sellout tour!” which still attracts attention whilst sitting with the rest of the magazine well. This is also an example of teasing content; because it uses the advertisement of a competition, or the chance to get something for free. This is conventional for most magazines but is probably more likely to appear in magazines like Q because they are monthly, therefore have a larger budget than weekly magazines like NME.

            In my contents I have used pictures in a polaroid esque frame in order to make it look a little more unconventional and innovative. Also I think that this adds a vintage feel to it, which is also the zeitgeist at the minute because vintage is in fashion in every medium (clothing, music, films) and can be seen in the NME contents page because of the fonts and the framing of pictures. My contents is both conventional and unconventional to current magazine structuring, because it is derived from the NME’s and Q’s contents style of using larger images with captions underneath but however has been taken further into the unconventional because of the polaroid framing.



The zeitgeist is to use unconventional
minimalism.



                I have, conventionally, located the features section of my magazine in the bottom left corner (alike to the NME’s contents) but however have used a scrawled font in order to give the magazine a sort of friendly, colloquial feel but also because I wanted it to loosely represent a bands setlist before a show. As well I think that this is reminiscent of the D.I.Y approach of the punk era. I wanted it to have an exclusive feel too so that it felt like a magazine made for fans rather than the music industry. I also used this font for my title and have only used it for things that don’t desperately need to be read and will only be read if a consumer looks for it, the simple, American Typwriter font is the font which I use to try and attract people when they are reading. In order to keep with the setlist theme I have also put the white background slightly off, to make it look even more like a carelessly scrawled before show plan.  I think that by almost ‘scattering’ the pictures it also gives the magazine a more homely and friendly feel which I want to reinforce because this would help readers/consumers feel like the belong to a group of people who do read this one magazine, and feel exclusive because of that.

                I have also made sure that like NME and Q there is a subscription advert in the contents because it is always put there because it is one of the few practical places; if they took out a page to voice a subscription plea then they would lose out on more money from advertising therefore magazines make room on the contents page. I do however think that my subscription advertisement is more successful than the one which NME generally pring because it is more attractive and refined whereas NME usually have badly photoshopped pictures without taking any care with what they are doing. This creates the feeling that they don’t need the subscrpitions but are offering them just incase people do.  

                I think that the images I have used on the contents page work well because they all fit to the conventions of the indie genre because of clothing, and the way they seem to be acting, which I think reinforces the genre which I am aiming for.

                I have not used an Editor’s Letter because I think that it may take away from the music, which I want to be the most important thing in my magazine. This is conventional to some magazines, like Q, whereas not to magazines like NME as it is more of a ‘music gossip’ magazine, whereas the bigger, monthly magazines like Q are more likely to have an editors letter because they tend to be more glossy and try to have an image of quality. Also it may be because they may be a little more narcassistic and have more self importance than a smaller magazine may.

         

 In my double page spread I have used a large headline in order to attract attention quickly and to state exactly what is on that page. I have made the headline’s “Heart” a much bolder red than on the front cover because I wanted it to stand out a lot more as someone was flicking through and on the front cover I didn’t want it to detract from the rest of the page and also look out of place. I used an editing technique to apply a gold-ish tint around the letters to make it richer, stand out even more and to make it fuller. I think that its largeness helps to make the whole image look fuller and also helps to fill out some of the double page.

As to keep in with conventions I have used a main image which fills the whole of one side, whilst most of the article is on the opposing page. I have also made sure that parts of the main image can be seen behind the article, and by using a full double page image I think that it makes the image sit a lot better and makes the whole thing quite inclusive to the page.

I have, like in the NME to the right only used one other image because otherwise I think it would be too cluttered by images and by only having two (main and a smaller one) I have ensured that it does not look cramped or swamped at all. For the article I used two columns, unconventionally as most magazines will use three or perhaps four so that it is more neatly spaced and also is easier to read because of the way it is spaced.

On this page I have not included a photo credit or a byline because although it can be put at the start or on the photos I wanted it to be together collectively at the end of the article on the next page because I think that at the end it is almost reminiscent of a letter format, and I wanted it to look more sincere. The continuation has been articulated by the play arrow at the end of the article indicating that the article is continued over the page so therefore I would put in credits on that page.

 Throughout the article I have used three different pull quotes in order to attract attention to the article because these would be noticed by a consumer as they flicked through the magazine and my interest them, and then incline them to buy the magazine. Magazines will almost always use pull quotes because with them and article would look bare and also interest in a solid, unbroken block of writing would be rare. Also it allows what the artist is saying to be pulled out of context, for example in mine she says “Auto-tune – that’s the death of music” because it means that the reader wants to see if she talks badly about anybody else famous but also her opinions and ideology may also be similar to the readers so therefore the reader identifies with her. More often than not a magazine like NME will use rude or obnoxious pull quotes in order to create a reaction from the reader, I however do not want my magazine a ‘stirring’ reputation and would rather it represented artists fairly because then it has a better ideology.

I have made sure to use a lot of features throughout the whole magazine in order to give it a format and a consistency. For example the most evident example of the established house style formatting is the use of font. I have limited it to only four fonts: American Typewriter, Nueva Std, Cambria, and Brush Script. I think that by restricting the changing of fonts I have ensured that it is kept at a constant and also that a consumer can tell it is all part of the same magazine. Another factor key to the formatting is the use of colour; I have continually used colours like red and orange with white and the writing colour being red/black/white therefore making it more and more standard to the magazine and keeping it the same throughout the magazine.

My magazine would be aimed at people around sixteen up until around thirty because they are the most likely to be going to gigs and buying the music in the magazine. Because my magazine will feature new music heavily I think that it would mainly aimed at people who are really into their music, or at least love to see live bands. I have also made sure that it appeals more (stereotypically) to upper lower class and lower middle class because they are more likely to identify with a lot of the working class bands in it, and therefore with the magazine more. Also key to this is the price, if it was more expensive then a lot of the lower class wouldn’t see buying/reading it worthwhile whereas middle class people could see it as being too cheap and not worth it if it was priced any lower.

Reader Profile:

I think that my magazine would be most unlikely to be produced by IPC Media because it already published the NME. It could be published by Bauer media as even though it does have Q magazine it would maybe publish a shorter, weekly, more concise music magazine which is aimed at a younger target audience rather than Q’s older audience.  I think Conde Nast would not be a good publisher because most of their magazines like GQ and Vanity Fair are much more high gloss, upper-class which are very American and also generally fashion based, which my magazine is definitely not, and also mine would not be ready for a global market.  My magazine could be published independently because then it would tie in with the idea of the alternative ‘independent’ and not belonging to anything.

I think that my magazine represents the ‘alternative’ young people in a positive light because it says that their music, fashion sense, books, films and television are good, so therefore reinforces what they already believe in/think like NME does too. It does not represent older people or ‘mainstream’ music fans because I do not feature any older bands on my cover lines but also because I think that the main image is not an inviting image, the sunglasses connote a block between her and the world I think which makes it less friendly towards people who do not know her already whilst fans of the genre will see it as ‘cool’. It does not appeal to ‘mainstream’ music fans because on the coverlines no one currently famous in that sense or in the charts at the minute. I think that this is represented as well in the design and layouts because other readers will probably see it as odd because of the unconventionality and old, vintage feel. Alike to Q’s Q50 feature and NME’s Chart feature I also included a feature which instead of using the Top 40 I use a chart of unheard, innovative new music which applies to my readers; therefore meaning that readers feel more of an inclusivity because it will be generally music they like, or at least respect artistically. Because of features like this, my magazines main appeal would be for the music but I would also include special offers and competitions like the one mentioned on the cover in order to entice more readers to buy the magazine. I made sure that the magazine’s contents looked almost messy in order for it to relate to them more and also to try and give it an inclusive, cultish feel like they are the only ones who understand the magazine’s ethos and ideology.

Throughout this magazine I have used many different Photoshop techniques in order to achieve a much better product form just changing the background on images or Auto Toning/Colouring to get a better image right up to adding Gaussian Blur or spot fixing and font editing.  I did the most editing on the front cover in order to give it an eye-catching appearance.

  

The original photo is on the right and my final front cover above. The main thing I did to the image was to apply a full Gaussian Blur to the background in order to draw focus onto her and also onto the coverlines on the finished cover. To do this I cut out the profile of her, then duplicated it, using one as the background and one for the foreground then applied Gaussian Blur to the background layer whilst keeping the foreground clear and uninhibited by the blur effect. The other main editing I applied to it were on the fonts, in order to make them sit on the photo better and also to make them stand out more from the cover to attract more attention.  I did this by double clicking the layer with the fonts on to bring up blending options then I would use things like the stroke, contour and shadows in order to give it more of an outline in order to bring out the letters more. All of the things that I have done with Photoshop I could not have done at the start of the year and now I believe I can use it quite adequately in order to do most things with it.

I think that looking back at my original college magazine preliminary task I have mainly leant about the conventions: what should be in one magazine and not in another type of magazine but also a lot about how to frame the image better in order to create a neater, more refined front cover. Also I have learnt a lot about how fonts and formatting can be quite diverse as long as they stay within a not too dissimilar bracket, as you can see above my first attempt was stuck in one font and lacked diversity. The main thing which I learnt about design, which I think can be seen in my music magazine, is that conventions can be broken effectively in order to give the design a much nicer, fresher feel and that this helps the magazine to become more sort of cultish, exclusive read.  One of the most important things I learnt from my college magazine is that the process is slow and cannot be done quickly otherwise the final product would reflect that, therefore the time management of it reflects this. I took a slow methodical because it allowed the magazine to be created one step at a time rather than it being a lot of things at once. This method of organisation helped a lot because it meant that I knew where I was with everything and was never swamped or overloaded by work especially when analysing the other magazine covers, contents and double page spreads. The only thing I would change about this approach is that I would have started taking photos earlier so that I built up a large cache of ones which could be adequately used anywhere in the magazine because when I was doing the contents I did need more than I expected so ended up scrambling around trying to get a few more for it. My other shoots I did in bulk, getting 30-40 images for my cover and double page so that I had a good choice of photos which I could use.