Evaluation.

Phoebe Hindle.
Media Studies.
 Question One: In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real
media products?
I used a tag-line for my
I used a retro style font for my title magazine because the
because it fits the genre of my majority of magazines have
magazine- old and new pop. The word tag-lines. Something catchy
“life” was spaced out to represent pop and memorable.
life throughout the years. My title is at
the top of the page which is a typical
convention of a magazine. This is The image on my front cover is a medium
important to have as it is noticed close up image which takes up the whole of
straight away and also, the name helps the page, which is usual for a music magazine.
There is usually just one artist on the cover
the reader know what genre it is
(unless it’s a band). Also, the artist on the
therefore attracting the right reader. front is young and around the age of my target
audience, this is a typical for a music magazine
as having a young artist on the front attracts
Magazines usually have the readers and also they feel like they can
some sort of chart to show relate to them because they’re close in age.
who’s “in” or “out”,
therefore having a “who’s
who of 2011” featured in my
magazine is a typical Because my genre is pop, I used
convention. colours which reflect this. I used bright
I put a barcode on my front cover
colours like whites, pinks and yellows.
because every magazine has a
However, I also used darker colours
barcode on either the front or the
like black to help it stand out. These
back. I’ve also put a website, date,
colours are the sort of colours my
price etc. all on the front. This is
target audience like, so it was
another way my magazine
important to use the right colours as
conforms to a regular magazine.
to attract the readers.
Question One Continued: Apart from conforming to the conventions in many ways, my front
cover also challenges these typical conventions. My magazine was focused on pop music.
However, usually if a magazine is about
one genre of music it’ll stick to the most
Most magazine titles are normally
current artists who are dominating the
just one short word so it’s catchy genre at the moment. However, I decided
and memorable, however, mine is to not only include pop music from this era
two words long and also the but other eras from the past, partly
second word is spread out which is because when doing my research that was
unusual. Nevertheless, I think it a main thing people would have likes to
see and also attract a larger audience.
works and makes it different to
other magazine titles which can
help it be memorable.

I challenged the typical magazine

conventions with the types of fonts I
used- I stuck to two fonts which
magazines usually do, but my fonts
weren’t the sort of fonts you’d see on a
magazine cover, they were very retro
Even though I used the colour and different. I used a more retro font
pink on my front cover as it’s because of my genre and also it’s looks
a typical colour for my genre, like the type of font my audience would
it’s perhaps not normally seen like, however from the evidence of my
on a front cover as the colour audience feedback, I saw that this hadn’t
worked perhaps as well as I would have
of text, which is another way
my magazine challenges the hoped. Although, I think it’s important to
typical conventions. try and challenge the typical elements
because it can stop it from making all
magazine look the same.
 I put my magazine name and the date and
Question One: Contents page.
magazine website again at the top of the
contents page as to draw emphasis to the
magazines website and also the name so
people remember what magazine they are
reading.
I put the artist on the cover
in the contents page
because this is a typical
convention, you will always
I used sub-headings such as find the person on the
“features” and “every week”. cover, in the contents page.
Magazines usually break their It shows that the artist on
contents up in to several the cover is the main focus
headings, making it easier for of this weeks issue. Also,
the reader to pick out bits they there is an image of another
want to read and makes it artist on the contents page
easier on the eye, so it doesn’t which is also a typical
look like a mass of information. element to show who else
Also, one of my headings is will be featured in the issue.
“special” and magazines usually
have specials to attract the
readers in to wanting to carry
on reading.

I put page numbers on the bottom of the two

pictures on the contents page and also at the sides
next to what’s going to be in the magazine. This
helps the readers to flick straight to that particular
page. Also it helps it look professional as all
magazines have page numbers.
Question One Continued: Apart from conforming to the conventions in many
ways, my contents page also challenges these typical conventions.

In one way my contents

page challenges the
typical conventions is
Another way in which I because both my
challenge the conventions pictures are fairly large
is by putting the word taking up one side of the
“cover story” in pink and page, usually pictures
making it slightly larger aren’t the same size as
than the rest of the text. I text at the side and the
did to draw attention to picture of the person on
the cover page and make the cover is usually
the readers aware of larger than the picture of
where about in the the person who isn’t. I
magazine it is. did this because I wanted
to draw attention to the
photographs and let
people know straight
Another challenge is that the second photo of the away who was going to
artist featured in my magazine is older than the be featured in the
person on the cover. Usually, pop magazines magazine.
feature young artists but because my genre is
older era and newer era of pop I chose to put an
“older” artist on the contents page to show that
this also features of other eras of pop.
 I’ve carried on my colour theme from the
Question rest of the magazine which is pink and
One: Double white. This makes it look girly which is
Page Article. effective because this interview is about
a female artist. Also, different colours are
used to attract and make it look less
boring and highlight the important bits .
The title of my double page article is a simple sentence quote
from the interview which is a typical convention as most music
magazines use quotes as titles. I put the word “crazy” in a larger
font than the rest of the title, highlighting it and drawing
attention to it. Also, I used a quote that uses interrogative
mood as this makes it seem that the question and quote is
directed at the reader and may make them carry on to read it.

Another way in which my I gave a short overview

magazine complies with the of the interview,
typical conventions is with explaining briefly what
my photograph. I put the was going to be
photo on a full page which mentioned in the article.
most magazines do. It This is a typical
captures the reader straight convention of a
away, and helps them know magazine . It gives the
who this article will be reader a brief teaser of
about. It is taken from a high what will be featured
angle medium shot and she and they if it interests
is looking into the camera them enough without
which helps the readers feel giving much away, they
engaged, which is also will carry on to read it.
another typical convention.

I’ve written my magazine in columns which

I’ve used quotes from the interview and placed them
at several different places on the pages. This is again a
typical convention because all magazines pick out
quotes which may be seen as interesting or
controversial which helps attract the reader.
the majority of magazines do. I did this as it
makes it look professional and also it looks
like there is less there, especially with the
quote in the middle, so the reader is not faced
with a mass of text.
Question One Continued: Apart from conforming to the conventions in many ways, my double page
article also challenges these typical conventions.
One way in which my magazine challenges the
conventions is with the name of the artist. Usually
their name is large around the same size as the title
and near the top of the page, however, I mentioned
my artist in the description of the article. Although, I
did make it capital and put in a different colour to
help it stand out.

In most music magazines

there is usually more than
one photo of the artist on Another way in which
the pages, however, I just is challenges the
used one large one and conventions, is that
didn’t put one anywhere usually music
else, which perhaps magazine interviews
challenges the are structured by a
conventions. “question, answer”
format, however, I did
mine more of a
description and added
bits of the interview
in to it. Although this
isn’t totally different it
is the less common
way music interviews
are presented.
 Question Two: How does your media product represent particular social groups?

In my magazine I represented female music artists, I did this because my I chose to base my magazine on a
interview with a young female recording artist. I also represented them throughout the use of mise-en-scene, for
example things like the costume and colour etc.

COLOUR:
I used colours which represent my target audience, for example primary colours and bright colours. I used
these colours, not only because they represent my target audience, but also because it represents the genre
of my magazine and the artist I have chosen to represent. Colours I used were mostly white, pink and yellow.
White is a pretty neutral colour which any genre could use, so I think it was important to use that colour to
help attract a wide range of readers, but also because my female artist was young and the white can help
represent innocence and give her a wholesome image. I also used the colours pink and yellow because these
colours gives it a girly feel and this was important if I wanted to represent female music artists properly and
accurately.

I used the same colours throughout

my magazine to keep a theme going
and make it look professional. Also, it
doesn’t look messy or busy because
the colours all match and they’re not
too bright or too dull.
Question Two Continued: Costume.
When I was taking the photographs for my magazine, I thought about what colours my
artist should dress in to make sure I represented my genre well. I decided on colours
like whites, blacks and neutrals. I decided this because they would complement the
colours of the magazine well and also I needed something darker than the colours of
the text to make sure the magazine didn’t look “too in your face” and too bright and
uneasy on the eyes.
The clothing was trendy and “in fashion” which was important because all music artist
will wear things that are in fashion because they need to appeal to the music listeners.

Although I think I represented female artists well, I

think I may have used too dark colours or didn’t
put any brighter colours on my artist (mostly on
my double page article photo). I think it would
have worked slightly better if I had because it
would have been very clear I was representing
female pop music artists. However, I do think it
worked quite well and makes my artist a little
different to others and more unique. Also the dark
colours on the light background made her stand
out a lot which is important.

Real magazines such as Billboard and Blender dressed

their artists in dark colours and whites as this made them
stand out on the lighter backgrounds, like I did with my
magazine. Also, they’re wearing trendy clothing, like
Taylor Swift is with the waist coat and leggings, they’re
typical clothing teenage girls would wear. Therefore, I
think I have represented female music artists well.
 Question Two Continued: Appearance.

The make-up my artist wore was the “fresh-faced” look, for example, she
wore mascara to make the eyes stand out and girly colours like the pale
pink blusher. The photo was edited slightly to make bits darker or paler or
to stand out more, like the eyes. This simplistic make-up is typical of young
female music artists. It makes them appeal to their audience more and also
make them look “younger” or “innocent”. However, it was important to
edit it slightly because they needed to stand out on the cover of the
magazine or the eyes needed to stand out to get attention of the reader.
Her hair was also very simplistic. Most of the time female artists wear their
hair down and curly on magazine covers. Again this helps them attract
their target audience.

The poses my artist did were elegant and simple. I think that
this represents the female artists well because they usually
pose simply, for example just looking in to the camera or
having their hands on the hips. Having simple poses makes
them look interesting yet it doesn’t take away the interest
from their appearance and they look sophisticated and
grown up, which is important because their target audience
will look up to them because they can still look beautiful by
posing simply.

In the majority of my photos my artist was looking in to the camera or

smiling, or doing both. This helps her to connect with the readers and make
them seem comfortable and also make her look approachable. This was
especially important on the front cover because she needs to be able to
connect the audience and interest them. I think this represents female artists
well because they are usually smiling on covers of magazines or looking
intensely in to the camera.
Question Two Continued: Stereotypes.

I think that I have represented my artist in a very stereotypical way. I chose to represent them this way because
my target audience are used to seeing female music artists represented this way, therefore it was best to
represent them in a familiar way as to sell more magazines. Also, when I did my audience evaluation they knew
what genre my magazine was straight away from the methods I used to represent my artist.

Overall, I think I have represented this social group well through the use of colours, costume, appearance etc. It
was suitable for my target audience of teenagers and pre-teens and I think because I stuck to more of a
stereotypical way of representing them this would attract their attention and get them interested in my magazine.
 Question Three: What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
I researched other magazines and I think “Top of the Pops” magazine and “Rolling
Stone” magazine are pretty similar to mine. They're both mainly pop genre magazines
and they talk about the latest songs in the charts, reviews and things like album
ratings. My magazine is aimed at teenagers and pre-teens and is a mixture between
music and gossip, so either publisher of “TOTP” (BBC Magazines) or “Rolling Stone”
(Wenner Media LLC) would also publish mine.
BBC Magazines would be good to publish my magazine because they have the most
experience and knowledge when it comes to my target audience; they have specialized
magazines for teenagers and pre-teens, so I think the BBC Magazines would be the
best option. There is always a market for magazines aimed at pre-teens and teenagers
which is why I think my magazine would be published.
Also, Wenner Media LLC would be a good publisher to have. This is because they're an
American based company and they'd be able to give my magazine a wider audience. So
my magazine would appeal to English, Americans and other countries around the
world. And the other magazines they have published are magazines like gossip
magazines which is why mine would also do well because it is a slightly different target
audience to Rolling Stone and is a mixture between their existing products.
I think that these publishers would publish my magazine because my magazine is very
unique in a number of different ways. Firstly, it is a magazine aimed at different pop
eras. There is no magazine out there like this so it would give them a profit because it
would appeal to a number of different people and attract more readers. Also, my
magazine is aimed at younger audience and even though there are magazines out
there for younger audiences, there aren't that many which is another reason as to why
my magazine would be good to publish. My magazine is much more unique than
magazines like Smash Hits or Billboard and it would appeal to more readers than these
magazines.
 Question Four: Who would be the audience for your media product?


The audience for my magazine would be mostly female's aged around 12-18 who like a range of different pop music.

The ethnicity of my readers would be any ethnic background from anywhere in the world. This is because my magazine
focuses on different aspects of pop so there wont be prominently white artists, it'll be a mixture of different artists.
Also, pop appeals to every teenager all over the world.

The socio-economic status my target audience would fit in to would be mostly category “E”. This is because they are
teenagers so the majority wont have jobs or may have low paid Saturday jobs. However, they could fit in to other
categories like “C-A” if their parents give them money regularly.

This is a good target audience because it would give me a large mass audience because the genre of my magazine is
pop music and pop music (as it suggests) is popular music. Therefore it is a mainstream audience. Also because my
age range is a wide range it appeals to more people, again giving me a larger audience. Also, this target audience
don't have any responsibilities for things that need to be paid for so they would be able to afford my magazine as it
only costs £1.99 and this target audience are pretty loyal so they'd buy it every week.
My product may also have secondary target audience this could be parents, siblings, friends or grandparents etc. The
parents or grandparent may buy the magazine for the reader and they may look through the contents of the
magazine, or friends or siblings may pick it up to have a look
inside it out of interest.
An example of my target audience

Therefore, I think that this is a good target audience to have for my

magazine.
 Question Five: How did you attract/address your audience?

There are many things in my magazine which attracts and addresses my audience.

Firstly, the title of my magazine attracts the audience because it gives away hints of what sort of
magazine and genre of magazine the magazine is. It gives away that it's a music magazine because people who are really
into music will realise that the title is a name of a Prince song. The tag-line also gives away the genre and the sort of
magazine it'll be because it is a Michael Jackson song. Also, it shows that this will not focus on only the current pop era.
From the results of my questionnaire, everyone who answered knew it was a pop music magazine.

The image on my front cover is the main attraction of my magazine cover. The
pose is intriguing and would engage the audience because she is looking
straight in to the camera and has her body towards the camera which is
addressing the reader. Also her head is tilted slightly, which looks inviting. The
high key lighting makes the artist stand out and makes the cover light and
inviting. The white background is plain and doesn't take away any attention
from the artist on the cover. Also the colours the artist has on, black and white,
helps her stand out from the background and this helps attract the audiences
attention. The artist has a slight smirk on her face but isn't full on smiling so this
could create enigmas for the audience and they would want to read on and see
what this person is really like.
Question Five Continued: Story lines

I used interrogative mood on this

The “who's who” story line will story line as it addresses the
help to attract the audience audience in an indirect way. Also,
because it's like an exclusive the audience will become
and something that they interested and wonder who did
wouldn't find in another dominate the 80s and may also
magazine. Also, they would answer the question. This would
want to know who is in and make them carry on reading to see
who is out because my target whether they were right or not.
audience are set on knowing all
about the people that will be
the most famous this year and
therefore this headline helps I made the name of the cover
attract the audience. artist and the names of the
other artists mentioned on the
cover in capital letters and in
pink so they'd stand out. This
lets the reader quickly glance
and see who will be featured in
this weeks magazine. Also the
names of the artists are really
famous so the reader knows
Overall, the story lines are short and usually don't use full sentences as this gives the
straight away who they are and
audience a quick overview of some of the content in the magazine. With the help of
this'll grab their attention.
interrogative sentence moods “who dominated the 1980s”, comparatives “toppers”
and dynamic verbs “takes” help attract the reader and addresses them directly as
well as gaining their interest. The story lines show that only the most successful
artists (the “chart toppers” story) will feature in this magazine, adding to the
interest because these are the more popular people.
Question Five Continued: Contents Page. The way I attracted my audiences attention on the contents page was
by putting a heading and then a little sentence underneath it briefly
describing what it'll be about. For example, “12 Cover Story: 2011
The Year Of The Gouldsbrough” is a little pun as this magazine was
made at the beginning of the year, there is usually a Chinese Zodiac
sign of the year, so I played on that fact and made it “the year of the
Gouldsbrough” which is the name of the artist on the cover. This is
only a brief description and doesn't really give anything away as to
why it'll be her year. This'll entice the reader and make them turn to
that page.

The two photos on my contents page are two very simple poses that are
medium close ups. This would attract the readers because they would
see the photos and become interested as to who these people are and
want to read more about them.

I used ellipsis in my headings and

The layout of my contents page is very simplistic and easy to in the sentences on the contents
follow. There are photos on one side of the page and page because this makes it seem
information about the magazine on the other. I think with my less formal and makes the reader
target audience it's need to be simple yet still keep their connect more with the magazine,
attention. I made it easy to follow with the headings. These like they're having a one-to-one
headings would make it easier for the reader to find what conversation.
they're interested in and flick straight to that page.

My audience didn't react to my contents page as I liked because they thought it was maybe a little too simple.
Question Five Continued: Double Page Article.

The headline of my article is a quote from the interview.

The word “Crazy” is in a different font and colour and is
made much larger than the rest of the quote. Therefore the
emphasis is on the stative verb “crazy”. This would make
the reader wonder what they're talking about and what
they find so crazy, making them go on to read it.

I used quotations from the interview, ones that I thought

were the most interesting and also quite controversial. I
made them large and placed them in several places on
the pages. I used quotes that I thought would interest
the reader and make them go on to read the article.

I used this image on one side of the article. I think it is a very powerful yet simple one. She is
looking directly in to the camera and this helps the reader connect with her and like they
know her personally. The image was taken at night time, so it had to be edited to make it
lighter. I made the background black and white and kept her in colour. This makes her stand
out and makes the reader look directly at her and focus only on her and not the
background. Her body language is also helps address the reader as she is leaning forward
towards the camera. It makes the reader stop and look at the image and it makes them feel
like this person is a friendly and straight forward and because they feel connected with the
image they would go on to read the interview to see what person she really is and if they
were right.
Question Five Continued: Double Page Article.

My double page article is laid out like many other music magazines as it has a heading at the top, a little
introduction and then the interview in columns. I think what would attract the reader the most is the heading and
the photograph at the side, as well as the quote in the middle. Also because it's in columns the reader isn't over
faced with a lot of text and this would appeal to them and they'd read it. The different colours help break it up and
it looks nice and professional. I know that this page attracted my target audience because in my audience
feedback they all commented that this was the best page and most appealing page.

The huge quote and the different colour it's in

helps break up the text and make it look more
appealing. The colours suit my target audience
and also it makes it look more interesting
because it isn't just one block of writing.

Overall, the whole layout of this page; the colours

the columns, the photograph etc. makes this page
the most appealing and I think it works very well.
Question Five Continued: The Article.

I researched a lot in to magazine articles and I found that I needed to make mine seem very chatty and quite informal
and use a lot of colloquial language if I wanted to appeal to my target audience. I didn't use language that they
wouldn't necessary understand because the youngest audience for my magazine is around 12 years old, however, it
couldn't be simplified too much as the oldest audience is around 18 years old.

Here is an example of colloquial language that I used. “Stuff's” and “kinda” are
words that would be used in every day to day talk, but not in formal situations.
Therefore, the reader would feel comfortable reading it as it would make them feel
like they're having a conversation with the interviewee and make them connect on
her level.

I tried to make the artist appeal to the readers by making her seem shy but
friendly, like somebody that the readers could look up to as a role model or
somebody they could easily be friends with. This also makes her seem interesting
because the reader would then go on to read to get to know her more and see if
she's really shy.

The use of the exclamatory mood and simple sentence makes her seem fun and
exciting and like a laid back person. The exclamatory mood draws attention to
her sentence and also because it's an imperative mood it's kind of like she's
giving orders but with the use of the exclamation mark, in a friendly way. Again,
attracting the reader because my target audience is a group that don't like
being told directly what to do, so the way it was said makes it appeal more to
them.
Question Five Continued: Ideologies.


I stuck to the stereotypical way of presenting my artist. Because she is fairly young, I made
her seem polite, friendly and ambitious and very passionate about music. I think that this was
the right way to go as my target audience is in the age rage of 12-18. This gives them the
impression that not all celebrities, or young celebrities, are going to go “off the rail” and go
down the wrong path, showing them that there are some good inspirational young people out
there that they can look up to.

I chose to use this stereotype because it is familiar with my target audience and this gives
them something they're used too. Also, my target audience would much rather read about
someone who is shy and polite than someone who is very arrogant which again makes my
artist appeal to them because she is presented as polite and well mannered

My artist is full of dreams and ambitions and this is important to show because the girls in
my target audience are still young and they have many dreams. So to show that a “celebrity”
still has dreams makes it easier for the readers to connect with her on some level and make
them see that they can “follow their dreams” and become successful like the artist.
 Question Six: What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?

Throughout the course of creating my media product, I have used several websites, equipment and editing software
to help make my magazine. I have found that a lot goes into making a magazine look professional and well presented
and that I couldn't have made my product without using on of these technologies.

Blog: First of all before creating any of my magazine, I had to create a blog. I made this by using
www.blogger.com. This website enabled me to create different posts and keep a record of my research,
planning, production and my final products or anything else I thought was useful to write down. I had my
own individual blog which I could access at any time or place and could go on to refer back to things I had
posted to help me create my magazine. I posted on here several times a week and this helped me build up
enough information to make my magazine as professional looking/sounding as possible.

Internet: I used the internet to access many different sites to help me complete my research. I use sites
such as www.wikipedia.com to help with research, www.google.co.uk and www.google.co.uk/images to
help look for images of my target audience or for some more research in to my chosen genre, for example
I went on google to look for sales of pop magazines and came across several useful websites. I also went
on www.dafont.com to help me choose my font for my title of my magazine. I also went on magazine
websites such as www.rollingstone.com and www.billboard.com as these gave me some good ideas of
what a magazine should or shouldn't include. The internet was an important source of information whilst I
was making my magazine, and although at times it was difficult to pin point exactly what I was looking for, I
came across some very useful information to help me with making my magazine look professional and
unique. Also going on actual real magazine websites gave me some useful ideas which helped me to think
of my own ideas that would be suitable for my genre and target audience.
Question Six Continued.

Digital camera/camera equipment: I used two different types of digital cameras to take my
photographs. I used the one from college to take my photos in the studio. At first I wasn't too
sure how the pictures would turn out because I wasn't using a professional camera. However,
the studio helped me to over come this worry as the white sheet that the model stood on was
perfect for the camera to just focus on her. Also, with the help of the lights placed at different
angles helped the camera to take a good photo without any glare of light. I was also worried
about the quality because I thought I'd shake too much when taking the photographs and they'd
come out blurred. Therefore, I used a tripod to help keep my camera still. This worked fine and
this helped me to get different angles and shots of my model. I used a Canon digital camera
when taking the photographs outside of college. These came out good and I am pleased with
the quality of them. Even though I took over 200 photographs, they uploaded very quickly and
they looked professional on the computer.

Photoshop: I hadn't used Photoshop before starting to make my media product so I wasn't too
sure of everything on it. I had the manual with me to begin with but after a practice on it I think I
got to grips with the workings of it. It was easy to upload my photographs on to it. Photoshop is
a very useful programme to use, especially when making my photographs look more
professional. I didn't cut any pictures out as my artists hair was too difficult to cut around,
however I did use the programme to edit two of my photographs. I found it very simple to use
and the effects and editing equipment on there was great. I don't think I used everything I could
have on the software but nonetheless it did the trick and overall I am really pleased with the
programme and the way my edited photographs came out.
Question Six Continued.

InDesign: InDesign was the programme which I put my magazine together. This programme was very
professional and although I had never used this software before either, I got to grips with it very quickly. I could
import my images from Photoshop in to InDesign and here I could make them smaller or larger to be able to fit
on to my magazine. I could add effects to my text, for example adding drop shadows or making them lighter or
darker etc. I was able to do pretty much anything on this software and it helped to make my magazine look very
professional. This programme was the most important out of all the technologies I used because I wouldn't
have been able to make my magazine without this.

On the left is a magazine double page article from NME magazine and on the right is mine. I think that mine looks
just as professional as the first one and I think this is down to the use of InDesign.

I also used Picnik, an online editing programme to help me edit two of my pictures. I used it because I was home at
the time and I didn't have access to Photoshop. However, I think it worked well and it was simple enough to use for
example I made the background black and white whilst the artist was still in colour without any problems. They still
ended up looking professionally edited, like I had edited it on Photoshop.
Question Six Continued.

Overall, all the technologies and programmes I used helped me to successfully create a professional
looking magazine product. They were all simple to use, or some after some training, and without
them I wouldn't have come close to making my magazine look as professional looking and sounding
as it did. There is no downside to any of the programmes I used and if I were to make the whole thing
again, I would use each of these technologies again.
 Question Seven: Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the
progression from it to the full product?

From creating my preliminary task to completing my overall product, I have learnt a lot from when I started this whole
process.
After I finished my preliminary task, I hated the whole thing and kept pointing out faults. Even though I used the same
programmes for both of my products, my full product has come out completely different to the preliminary and I think I
have made vast improvements.

I have learnt that the front cover is the most important page of the magazine, it is the very first thing that the buyer
looks at therefore it must be able to capture their attention and interest. The layout, text and colours of the front
cover are all equally important and it's what stops the buyer from picking up another magazine, rather than yours.
Also, I have learnt that the picture on the cover can be just about anything as long as it gets the buyer interested.
However, I think that medium close ups work best for front covers which is why I decided to use a much closer shot in
my finished product than I did in my preliminary photo.
A lot more has also changed since doing my preliminary task. For example, my use of fonts. I said in my preliminary
evaluation that I needed to use more fonts on my font cover when I do my actual magazine. However, I've discovered
it's not the amount of fonts you use, it's how you use them.
I decided to stick to two fonts but I used different colours,
used different sizes and used different effects to make
them stand out and seem like I've used lots of different
fonts. Also, I didn't put everything in capital letters this
time like I did on my preliminary. I saw that all the capital
letters made the text look “too in your face” and very
off putting, therefore I only made the more important
things capitals, such as artists names to help draw
attention to them.
Question Seven Continued.

I've also learnt that the colour palette is very important with setting the mood and theme of the magazine.
Although I did stick to a colour palette in my preliminary task, I think I used the wrong colours, especially for the
front cover. The blue didn't work as a background colour, which is why I stuck to a plain background in my final
product. This made it easier to see all the text and left me open to use whatever colours I wanted, as everything
goes with white. It made my magazine look much more professional and easy on the eye. Also, I was quite
experimental with the colours in the final product. I made some of the letter “O”'s filled with the colour yellow
and made some words half black and half yellow. This made the whole thing look much more interesting and less
boring.
I think one of the biggest improvements is the choice of title. My title for my preliminary task was very boring, had a
busy looking font and wasn't placed that well on the front. Therefore, in my finial product I made sure I thought of a
much more interesting name, which is why I used “Pop Life”. I placed it much further down than I did on the
preliminary magazine because this way it's one of the first things you see. Also the font of it is easier to read and I
spaced it out a little making it more interesting looking. It also has an slight effect on it and the “O” filled in with yellow
again making it look much more interesting and appealing.

Another huge improvement is the layout of the cover. I

placed the artist much more central than I did in the
preliminary which makes it the main focus and something
you see straight away, which is important. Also, the way
I've placed the text in the preliminary task make it look very
formal and like a set design. However, in my final product it
looks like it's randomly placed but it's been thought about
where they go. This again makes it look much more
appealing and interesting. The layout on the preliminary
was very boring and I think that my final product is much
more interesting and not boring at all.
Question Seven Continued.

The overall language in my finial product is much better as the headlines are shorter and snappier. This allowed me to
fit more on to the front and made my magazine look full and finished. With the lack of text on the cover on my
preliminary it made the cover look incomplete. The story lines on my preliminary are very boring and even though I
tried to use sibilance to make it look more interesting, the stories don't grab your attention as much as my finial
product story lines do. Also, I made a spelling mistake on my preliminary which taught me to check over my product to
make sure this didn't happen in my final product.
I didn't edit my picture at all on my preliminary
task, apart from cutting out the image. This was
because I was quite a novice at Photoshop and
InDesign at the time so I didn't do any editing. I
did edit in my final product however, and this
made the photo look very professional and more
interesting and much more eye catching. I learnt
how to use InDesign properly for my final product
and this helped me get things exactly where I
wanted them, made things brighter and clearer
and over all much more professional looking.
 Conclusion:

Strengths:
All in all, I am fairly happy with the outcome of my product. I think the colours I chose worked well and fit right in to
my chosen genre of pop and my target audience. I like the fact it was very unique and focused on different aspects of
pop from different eras. I am pleased with the photographs I took and I like the way they came out especially after
editing them.

I like the layout of my pages, especially the double page article. I think the
simplicity of them and the layout really related to my target audience and was
a magazine that they would buy. I think they look very professional, especially
with the added photographs and edits of the text etc. I think I have come a long
way since doing my preliminary task and I think my final products are
considerably better. I think this is because I researched much more in to
magazines after completing it and also I became much more comfortable on
Photoshop and InDesign.

Weaknesses:

Although I am fairly pleased with the outcome of my product, I don't think I'll ever Some of the photos I took in the
be 100% satisfied with it. For example, there are some things that stop it from studio (made in to a .gif)
looking professional. These are things like some of the fonts, especially on the
front cover, I think I could have chosen a clearer font to use than the ones I did.
Also, I am not too pleased with my contents page. I think although I was trying to
stick with a simplistic style, I made it much too simple and this perhaps brings it
down a bit.
Having said that I think that overall my product looks professional and well put
together. I have enjoyed making this product and I have learnt a lot from it.