Megan Neal – AS Media Coursework – G321
Evaluation- Whirl music magazine
1. In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?
My media product was researched through looking at the same genre of music magazines and music albums to identify what sells in the genre, also targeting the same audience who is interested in the music and events that happen around it. I looked at magazines such as BLENDER and GQ my genre of music was dance/pop and my magazine was on that genre showing recent interviews and new and upcoming artists. Looking at the composer of a dance music magazine and its contents helped me understand the conventions and context of what the target audience want, with the tone being laid back, casual and simple, detailing in the specific equipment and latest dance clubs around the world, but mainly the artist and DJ’s around and the up and coming ones, adding to the style of photography of the pictures which were people dancing in a dark club with electric lights showing the high side of the dance music scene and what people enjoy. They were not staged or posed, just natural pictures enjoying the scene. The colours were bold and bright with a lot of neon yellow’s, blues and greens. The normal Grid’s were used the conventional 9 square, but it worked well because of the style of the magazine.
These are the magazines i liked the most.
Also the music video’s which inspire me
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M65zI9LH-as
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gq6ePJGUPiw
2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?
I took these ideas and into my own magazine by adding the details to the magazine so the interests of the readers were there and showing them something new and exciting, also enticing them and new audience to buy it.I designed the magazine cover in bright colourful colours which were pinks and blues with sea green’s to catch the audience’s eye and make them see that it was fun and interesting; the front cover picture was purposefully selected to interest the audience in the article and everything else in the magazine. The tone and register was relaxed but casually informative to make the reading easier and to make it appealing to pictures I used club scene pictures to underline the headlines. Subverting the conventions of usual magazine with the 9 grid , but I used it a little differently to show a little difference and make it more interesting and different to the eye, basing some of it on a fashion magazine because of the pop part of the genre.
My magazine has represented my target audience with the picture and same activities and hobbies involved, the type of artist is a pop/dance artist taking the likings from ‘The Pussy Cat Dolls’ and ‘Britney Spears’, I have tried to illustrate this by including the same hobbies as my target audience likes to do such as clubbing and DJ-ing, fashion, celebrity gossip. The photography of my pictures is relaxed and set in a studio showing the classic environment to get the in-between dance/pop genre of the article, enticing new groups and audiences of people interested in the artist or the music giving them more information about it. I have chosen my audience in pictures in a particular way because it targets there interests and adds to the appeal of the magazine with clubbing photos of people having a good time and DJs.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Jd23R46bbk
3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?
There are some companies that distribute magazines like mine like BLENDER, SPIN and ENTERTAINMANT, there companies who distribute them are Alpha Media Group and spin Media LLP, they sell magazines worldwide and are common in the fact that they all use the latest music pop stars on their front covers and the newest people involved .The type ofmusic genre is also played on 
These companies of the other music product also have other resources like websites and annual subscription, ENTERTAINMANT has a music video chart on line and has a music video programme in the U.S also all 3 magazines have mobile updates and contents to win prizes , making there knowledge about the genre and information easily accessible not just with in the magazine but also through technology, such as the internet webpage were you can access that all around the world at any time, also phone alert, music channels on TV, and they might have a stage at a festival which they will give a free magazine out. My magazine contributes to there style by me using the one picture of the star on the front cover and giving big bold expressions and sentences on the front cover about what’s inside and what you can’t get anywhere else.
4. Who would be the audience for your media product?
The target audience for my magazine would be between the ages of 17-25 when music becomes a lot more than words and you can understand the beat, rhythm and lyrics making it more personal to the customer, when the clubs open and students are free to decide for them selves. My TA gender would be both but mainly for girls who are interested in the soft dance music and also fashion and interest of the details involved. Adding this to the magazine made it more open to new audiences and giving it a fresh vibe to an edge of a different side of soft dance. There spending habits would be minimal because their students and wouldn’t have a lot of money, they would use technology a lot to help with work and browse , using social networking sites such as, Face Book and Bebo. Their hobbies would include fashion, gossip, and soft sport such as yoga, tennis and aerobics.
In my pre production questionnaire most of my audience and surveys said dance was their music genre and they were mainly girls which fitted in well, and the boy’s part helped me try and introduce a male side also to the magazine. Making the target audience a mix between both genders but mainly focusing on the music which is liked by both genders. They said that a free product would not help them to buy a magazine and a magazine website was important because if they cannot get the magazine they can still catch up on the latest news on the webpage.
5. How did you attract/address your audience?
My magazine attracts the right people to there genre of music taste because of the interests and the information on display throughout the magazine. It does not attract the rock and indie interest to the magazine because of the contents and colours and tone registered. The promotion entices the TA because of free club tickets and promotion CD’s to find new artists. My pre-production questionnaire told me that my audience wanted information and interaction from the magazine with fashion element, compared to the normal music magazines which are of different genres with pure music and gig’s. The articles would be interesting and about music and latest gossip also new equipment for people, giving the magazine well rounded interests. The articles would be latest music stars and have interviews one on one with them so the readers can find out more about them.
6. What have you learnt about technologies from the process of constructing this product?
Using the programme to contrast and put tighter my DTP has been useful and I have learnt so much from the design of it, the aspects of the design process have been interesting to use and to my advantage to make the magazine realistic and professional, I found the editing of the photo’s harder than the rest because of contrast change and editing it in to fit the style.
The technology has made the magazine more presentable and more out to everyone to get a hold off, which also helps all aspects of media and being able to reach it by technology all around the world, which helps the planning and organisation of the magazine because they have to know the certain style which appeals to their audience.
The use of the researching on the web and looking at magazines close to my genre helped because they helped me realise what was needed in the magazine and what attracted them, to a magazine , also I thought what attracted me to this magazine.
7. Looking back at your preliminary task, what do you feel you have learnt in the progression from it to the full product?
From the start of the school magazine until now, I have learnt a lot throughout from the programme software to editing and style and audience preferences. My first school magazine contents page went ok, it was simple with little extras and effects which help me learn the importance of planning and colour to attract people’s attention. Mt target audience did change slightly due to the fact that the first magazine was for teenage girls and they were younger still liking pop music, and for my magazine TA it was for older girls who were old enough to enter the clubbing scene not just school disco’s. Improving on this music magazine was a must as I have used colour and edited the picture to suit the genre also laying out the page as your eye meets the lower right. My pictures worked well in my music magazine and my school magazine stating the suggestion and automatically knowing what is was about, due to costume, make up and props. I could have planned the lay out a bit better and the focus of the pictures on the contents page by changing the colour and adding effects to make the pictures stand out. I have learnt that media plays an important part in modern day society and is highly used throughout the arts, with its information; attracting everyone’s attention whether it’s good or bad. I found the programme difficult to use at times and it took some patience when I was cutting out pictures, but I did enjoy the taking of the pictures and setting the scene to help the pictures look real.
