Evaluation Of Music Magazine (Part 2)

5) “How did you attract/address your audience?”

In all the photographs I took and included in my magazine, I made my models wear a happy and pleasant facial expression. As I had mentioned earlier, (referring back to question 2) this is another way of making my target audience feel attracted and interested in my magazine and its content.

I chose a younger looking person to feature on my front cover because this would represent my target audience more and this would appeal to them than choosing an adult. This is because teenagers would feel like the magazine is directed to adults instead of them.

I used Standard English in my magazine because; this was the language I felt that was appropriate enough for a Gospel music magazine. Even though my target audience regularly speak street slang but that is generally how they communicate amongst their friends and peers. The type of English that I have used in my magazine is understandable and isn’t so complex. It is easy to absorb because it is a basic way of speaking Standard English. I still feel this will attract my target audience because the language isn’t as dull as complex English; instead it is simple and easy to understand.

Including cover lines like ‘Liberty Gospel concert” and “Gospel Glamour” also would interest my target audience because teenagers like to attend concerts as they are mostly interested in music. They also are interested in things that relate to fashion, beauty and glamour. This is because it is what is mainly portrayed in the media about most of the celebrities that they feel inspired and connected to.

 Part of the articles mentioned in my contents page says “We are his chosen generation.” Using the phrase “We” also makes the reader feel included and interested in the magazine article. This is because it is a collective phrase and it is not separating the reader and the artist speaking in the article. This make the reader feel like they are on the same level with the artist in the article. On the contents page, I made the page numbers in bigger fonts than the rest of the writing. This is because those are the pages I felt were more important and would interest my target audience than the rest of the pages and articles.

Jewellery, style of clothing and hairstyles are very common amongst teenagers. Wristbands, necklaces, big pearl earrings and pearl necklaces are the style of most teenagers, especially females. Majority of them also wear a fringe whether front or side; it is a very common thing amongst this age group.  This is why i have made my models dress in this style.

I also used props like the sony headphones to attract my target audience as they are teenagers. Teenagers have great interest in music and the use of a Sony headphone is popular amongst most them. One of my models are wearing a baseball jacket (model featured on page 51). It is called this because of the nature of its fashion; It originated from real jackets that baseballers usually based in America wear.




 6) “What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?”

Through this magazine, I have learnt about various technologies, their functions, benefits and disadvantages. Firstly, the camera which I used to take my photographs was a ‘Canon EOS1000D’. I had borrowed this from a friend so because of this I had to receive lessons from her because I had to receive lessons from her as I had never used a professional camera before. I usually take my other pictures using digital cameras at home. I had basic knowledge about the functions of some buttons on the camera such as, the flash button and how to zoom in and out through the camera lens.

 I learnt most of the camera skills that were needed to take pictures for my magazine by taking the pictures themselves. When I was taking my pictures, I ensured that what I wanted in focus (the artist/my model) was in focus on the camera. I did this by making sure the Red or Green rectangular box that appeared in the camera screen and was around my subject like a border whenever I wanted to take a picture.

 Furthermore, because most of my images were taken outside, I didn’t really use much of the flash on the camera. I set the camera on “P” this means “Programmed Auto.” This is where the camera selects both the aperture value and the shutter speed by itself. Additionally, I also learnt the need to respect copyright especially when fonts need to be downloaded online from the internet.

This is because some of the artists of these fonts may use that as their source of income so downloading for free the fonts that are usually paid for can be seen as stealing. Most of the lessons I learnt from my pictures I came to realise after I’d already taken the pictures. Firstly, I learnt that when I take pictures I shouldn’t allow the background to dominate the image itself. This caused some of my models to appear short and some images also appear slanted than straight. I also learnt that I should have experimented with various shots; this would have added a different appearance to the pages in my magazine.

The software I used for my magazine is Photoshop. I had never used Photoshop before so this was the beginning of another tutoring journey that I experienced. I didn’t find this easy so I used the help of people around me and some YouTube videos to produce work that is above the standard in which I thought I would be able to produce. To collect information when I was doing my audience research, I used the Blackberry Messenger application.

 I found this much easier because it felt like I was conversating socially with a friend rather than gathering information for my coursework. This was also a quicker method than typing and printing lots of paper; searching for my target audience to answer questions. 



Image Of The Properties Of My Picture.



Image Of Camera

7) “Looking back at the preliminary task what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to a full product?”

I have used magazine conventions in my magazine as I had mentioned previously (paragraph 1) I have included many page numbers on my contents page. I learnt how to put interviews on the double page spread in columns instead of paragraphs.  Furthermore, I learnt how to frame shots using the software Photoshop.

This is one of the things I’d learnt from the previous lessons about the preliminary task (College Magazine). Organisation and time management were vital things that enabled me to complete this piece of work and give it in before the deadline. I had to organise the time in which I would take pictures of my models and their costumes; the time in which I would spend on my magazine; time for other courses I study other than Media.

I found this a little difficult but with self discipline and strict time management; I was able to get everything done in time and under control. Although, because of the different timetables that my models had in college, it was difficult to organise all their photographs to be taken at once. Instead, they came on different days to take their personal photos.

I think time management for this task is better than the preliminary task (College Magazine). This is because in that piece, I spent more time collating data and doing research than spending time taking photographs that would be suitable for the magazine. My knowledge of Photoshop has also improved from the college magazine task to this task (Music Magazine). This is because I’d just been introduced to Photoshop in the first assignment; so I found it complex to produce work that was of a high grade. I didn’t know how to crop certain things how to download fonts and so on.

However, I felt like this second assignment was like another chance of gaining additional knowledge on Photoshop. This is because in this task I used more image editing techniques e.g. airbrushing the model on the front cover’s face. I learnt how to download free fonts online and manipulated it for my own magazine. Even though, all these things took time looking at the appearance of my work I think I have done much better than the previous task. However, there are still things that I will like to change. For example, the location and type of shots some of the photographs are taken in.

My greatest achievement is gaining knowledge on the use of Photoshop. Although it is a topic I find difficult, I am happy that I still managed to create good work and I was able to change it into a way that is suitable for the genre of my magazine. I will not say that I have become perfect at using Photoshop but there are still some parts which are still my weak points on this software. However, with more time and practice, I will be able to work at higher standard using Photoshop.

Overall, from this experience, I have learnt that hard work, determination and perseverance are the most vital things to get through work that you feel you’re not particularly strong at.

Hard Work.





Evaluation Of Music Magazine (Part 1)

1) "In what ways does your media produt use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real life media products"?

In the beginning of the course before making the final piece of my music magazine, I analysed a 'Heart&Soul' music magazine cover. In this analysis, I evaluated the connotations and denotations of the cover and how the conventions were presented on the front cover. In my magazine, I have included some conventions of this magazine. This is so i will be able to attract my target audience as this magazine has done.


I used the majority of this magazine's style but I also used a bit of my knowledge to create the front cover of my magazine. For example, the barcode on my front cover is also on the left but instead of being horizontal, it's vertical.


The coverlines on my magazine are also on the left side of my featured artist. Because of this, I feel that i have developed the forms of a media product. Most magazines usually have their barcodes on the left in an horizontal way.

 However, my front cover is also different because the image is of only one person; unlike this magazine the image is of two people. I also used different colours (Purple, White and Black) on the front cover of my magazine. This is because when I did my audience research, these are the colours which the majority of those I took my research on had mentioned.
Again, I have developed conventions and forms of usual Gospel music magazines. Majority of the ones I saw online, are in colours like Red, Blue, Gold, Brown, Yellow and White.


On my contents page, I included a lot of pages and maximum 3 features. This is because, in most magazines there are a lot of pages for the audience to read from. For example "Q" magazine includes about 202 pages in its magazines.
"Vibe" magazine also includes 122 pages in it's magazines. Because of this, I feel like i have used another convention or form of a media magazine and included it in my own work.

2) “How does your media product represent particular social groups?”

I made this magazine to focus on one type of music which is Gospel. This is because gospel music isn’t what everybody else chose for their magazines so I wanted my magazine to stand out. I chose something of this genre because; gospel music is different from all types of music. This type of music is also usually associated with soul music and it is not as popular as secular music amongst teenagers.

This is because it is usually directed to adults so most teenagers tend to not listen to it as much. This magazine is made to bring gospel music in a different light; to make it more suitable and enjoyable for teenagers so they will be more interested in it. Below is an image of a teenager that enjoys urban gospel (Gospel #1). I didn’t make this magazine appeal to only one subculture though because I want it to be read by just not a group of teenagers but by everybody at this age group who feels interested and inspired by it.

My magazine is aimed at an urban community; mainly teenagers. I have included majority of the people I took my audience research on. In terms of the colours and themes a large percentage of them had mentioned that they’ll like to see in my magazine; For example most said colours like Purple would be more suitable for a music magazine so I made my magazine with a Purple, Black and White theme. Majority of them also mentioned that they like magazines that are mainly a mix of text and images so I made my magazine to contain a mix of these two things.

I featured someone dressed as a gospel music artist on my front page and they had a happy facial expression (smile). I also made her look directly into the camera. This is because by doing this it will seem as if the model is directly looking at her audience; there will be a strong sense of eye contact between my target audience and the model featured on the front page. This is also because, in most gospel music magazines I saw online, they all had this type of front covers with the artists smiling looking directly into the camera.

This attracts their attention and they will feel more interested in the magazine. The model smiling also gives a warm welcome to my target audience; this is also another way of making them feel connected to the magazine and its content.

Gospel 1#

Gospel Music.

3) “What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?”

The types of institutions that will distribute or publish my magazine are fashion, food magazines as they don’t usually publish magazines with a gospel or musical content or context. For example, The image below (Publisher #1), shows an image of th emagazine publisher that I think would be suitable to publish my magazine. I chose this image because, it appeals to my target audience and it is publishes a different genre to its reader from the genre of my magazine.

  Firstly, I think this would benefit the publishing house because it would show their audience or readers  that they are capable in delivering a variety of issues to them so they don’t just specialise in fashion but other things like Gospel; Music and so on.

Secondly, publishing my magazine through a totally different publishing house will allow audiences to expect more from the company. As they are publishing different issues their magazines become more flexible and applicable to their readers. They are also more likely to subscribe to that publishing house because they know it is worth their money.

I would distribute the magazine in WHSmith, youth clubs and shops where teenagers are likely to be found. This is because my target audience are people of this age so I will ensure the magazine is distributed in places where it will be easily accessed. However, if I was to do this individually, distribution would take longer and would be more expensive.



Magazine Publisher #1.

                                 










4) “Who would be the audience for your media product?”

The audience for my media product will be young and middle aged people. They’ll be interested in gospel music and fashion. Therefore, they will be able to relate to my product and this will encourage them to read more. My audience will also consist of people who feel inspired by artists of their own age (referring back to my audience research). Because of this, I have included entertainment and artists that they feel might represent their age. This will make my audience feel interested enough to read and engage in my magazine.

They would also mainly be a gospel music and fashion group. Teenagers of an urban culture; who feel interested in the magazine. My audience wouldn’t necessarily have a class or social group because the magazine is for anybody who feels interested in it.

 The magazine is mainly directed to people who are interested in Gospel music and Fashion. This magazine is also aimed at people who are confident, bold, and reach out to people. This is because gospel music usually stands out from all music.

People who enjoy it and are interested in it are made to be confident and are made to reach out to people. They are also friendly and welcoming. This is because they usually meet a lot of people and they have to communicate and approach them in a warm and pleasant way.  The magazine also aims to give confidence to teenagers who have lost their self esteem so they will be able to stand up and reach out to other teenagers like themselves.

Image Of Teenagers & Gospel Music.

Front Cover