My overall thoughts...

When looking back at the task I am pleased with what I have created and feel that I have learnt new skills along the way. Even though I found Photoshop difficult to use at first I think that I have produced designs of a good standard. It has also been interesting using Blogger for the first time, and I think that it was a good way of recording what I was doing as time went on.

Magazine Analysis: Question 7

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

When looking back at my preliminary task it is a lot more basic, with simple text styles. I feel that the text for my adverts on the final task are a lot more eye-catching, and fit in well with the genre. Even though the preliminary task was only a magazine for a college I do not feel that it would work well if it was for a wider audience. However, with more editing I think that the one I created for my final task is much better, and would work professionally to be sold to a wider audience. Whilst making this I have learnt more techniques on Photoshop, such as using lighting flares to make the images look better on my double page spread. I feel that I am more confident using Photoshop than I was to begin with. Before creating my magazine I had only used it once before, so I did struggle. I am pleased with the skills that I have learnt whilst completing the task, and think that the final task is much better than the preliminary, as it doesn't look as basic and amateur.

Magazine Analysis: Question 6

6. What have you learnt about technologies  from the process of constructing this product?

I used a camera like the one below, (which was my own) for all the images I took:

I also used Photoshop, which I found difficult to use at first, but once I got the hang of it my skills became better. I think that experimenting whilst making the preliminary task helped, and I learnt new techniques which I didn't know before. I also used Blogger to post about what I had been doing, which I found easier to use than Photoshop. I picked up how to load images and edit settings rather quickly on Blogger, whereas on Photoshop it took me more time. In the end I used Microsoft Publisher to create my final contents page, as I felt that it wasn't good enough, and I really struggled to make it the way I wanted in Photoshop.

Magazine Analysis: Question 5

5. How did you attract/ address your audience?

As I said before, my magazine "The Amplifier" holds similar connotations to magazines such as "Amp", "Classic Rock" and "Rock Sound", so would be distributed by companies like the ones that sell the magazines I have listed. Just like some of these magazines I think my Unique Selling Point would be the featuring of new bands. The title of my magazine would attract my audience to buy it, as "The Amplfier" immediately suggests rock, and the models express this further. The adverts on my front cover would also contribute to it being a successful magazine, as they are snappy, but let the reader know the content of the magazine at the same time.

Magazine Analysis: Question 4

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

 The person would be interested in rock music, and would know all about the latest rock albums, as well as showing an interest in new bands. They would probably play guitar or drums, and may even want to be a singer in a rock band, so would aspire to be like current and new artists. Being a teenager, they would buy my magazine because you get a lot of content for your money, and because it features a variety of things such as interviews, the best guitars and the top charts. They would also connect with the band shown on the front cover, as they would be of a similar age.

Unlike NME magazine who have a target audience of 16-19 years olds my magazine- "The Amplifier"- would probably be bought by 14-18 year olds. I think this because it does not mention topics such as "sex" and "drugs" in my magazine, therefore appealing to a younger age group. As the models on my front cover are 16-17 years this would probably mean the oldest buyer was 18 years, as buyers any older than this would not really be interested in a band who were a few years younger than them. I also feel that the content would not be as of much interest to an older teenage reader or one in their early twenties. This would make the audience for my magazine a niche one, as it is only a product sold to interest buyers of 14-18 years.

Magazine Analysis: Question 3

3. What kind of media institution might distribute your media product and why?

The masthead: This is institutionally similar to magazine mastheads  such as "Rock Sound", "Amp"and "Classic Rock", as they all have connotations of loudness and the genre of rock is the one that people associate with these titles.

The kind of company that would distribute a magazine like mine would be "Future Publishing", as this is one of the largest publishing companies in the UK. It also sells other merchandise like films, video games and photography. Another company that may sell my magazine would be IPC Media, as they sell NME Magazine, and the target audience for this is similar to the people who would be buying my magazine. IPC Media would be a good company to sell the magazine, as they are large and successful.

Magazine Analysis: Question 2

2. How does your media product represent particular social groups?

Even though the image of Adele is close up, we can see that her hair and facial expression are similar to the that of the model in my photo. The lighting on each of the images has also been edited, so it is artificial. Despite the fact we cannot see Adele's posture I think that the expression on each of the model's faces looks reall alike. Another difference is that the model on the professional magazine cover is a celebrity, whereas mine isn't, but I still think that the shot types give off similar connotations, such as attitude. The overall representation of a teenage rockstar is the idea that they have attitude, and that their personality is quite mysterious, which makes the reader want to find out about more inside the magazine. It can be seen that both Adele and my model share the features I have listed.

Magazine Analysis: Question 1

1.In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and conventions of real media products?

Here you can see the title font/style and the title name. I think that the masthead (title) of my magazine represents rock as a whole, as it is loud (which is emphasised further with the exclamation mark on the end). Amplifiers are also used when bands play live, so links back to this loudness shown through the style of the font. The white outline on the text gives it an edge, which is what rock music is all about. The music genre is also suggested by this title, because of the style, and the way in which "amplifier" jumps out at you as a loud word. I think that most people would associate this with rock music rather than any other genre.



This image shows the costumes, props, people and location. In terms of props I kept it very minimal, but the guitars fit in with the most popular colour scheme which was black and red. The poses which the models are in give off attitude, and this would be one of the key elements that people would look at when buying a rock magazine. The stone wall behind them, along with the red door, contribute to the rock band looking real.

With the written content I came up with an article that made the band sound like they were new, but also a group that the reader could connect with. I made them seem quite laid back, yet successful at the same time, so if an amateur rockstar were to read it they would aspire to be like the band featured in the magazine.

The layout of my front is typical of music magazines, with a band being the main focus, and also because of the colours which i have chosen. Some music magazines would use minimal text like I have, whereas others would make the page more crowded to show that the magazine had lots of content.

Even though my contents page does not look as professional as that from a real music magazine, I think that the general layout is similar, with it being split into three sections too: "regulars", "features" and "unlocking restricted areas." The fact that I have put "what's rocking?" at the top instead of "contents" means that it sounds more like a music magazine, and adds interest for the reader. With a real contents page I think that they would use more images, and some would use less text than I did. The reason I used less images was because I wanted to make it look as though there was plenty of content within the magazine. I also stuck to the colour scheme of red, black and white, but other magazines would use a variety of colours instead.

Analysis of my final magazine task

Front Cover: I feel that the front cover has been successful for that of a rock magazine. The font I chose for the main adverts is eye-catching and hints at the rebellious nature of rockstars. With the background image I feel that it fits in with the attitude, and that the models look like a real band just starting out on the road to fame. When I compare it to my preliminary task I feel that it is much better, and not as basic as I developed my skills and tried out new things on Photoshop.


Contents Page: This is the one out of my three creations that I am not as happy with, as I wanted it to look professional but did not have enough time to go back and start again. When I look at it I feel that there is something missing, but I don't really know what! However I think that it still fits in with the front cover and double page spread, but only to a certain extent. Looking back at the mock up I have changed it, and I think that the final design is better, especially since I used Microsoft Publisher instead of Photoshop to make the changes I felt were needed.


Double Page Spread: I am pleased with the finished creation as I think that it looks good, and that the image on the left hand page makes the band look like real stars. I enjoyed writing the article as I want to be a writer when I am older, so I think that it sounds good and goes well with the idea of a 'new band in town.'

When all three of these are put together I do not feel that the contents page goes that well. It is frustrating to know that one of my three creations doesn't look brilliant with the other two, and had I had more time I would definitely of gone back and started again. However, I think that the double page spread and front cover still fit together, and overall I am pleased with the magazine sections I have made.

Market Research: Feedback from People

I interviewed several people (male and female), and this is the feedback that they gave me for my magazine. I asked them about all three of my creations, and got them to tell me what they liked and what they thought could be better.

Positive feedback :)

Front Cover

• The price is reasonable for a 70+ page magazine
• The photo fits in with genre of the magazine well
• It has a good tagline, which is original
• The editing of the door makes it eye-catching and goes with the genre of rock
• The costumes fit in well
• The font looks good
• The expressions of the models look good
• The picture is striking
• The masthead looks like it is being amplified
• They liked that the colours go well together
• The location of the bar code was different
• The snappy adverts make it straight to the point
• They liked the font because it is different and "loud"
• The main image- they look like they’re having fun
• The band name stands out

Contents Page

• It contains plenty of useful information
• The heading is eye-catching and the font is effective
• The parallel images look good as they are all together at the bottom.
• They liked that I carried on the house style.
• The readers' attention is drawn to main article
• They liked the three sections
• The pictures are relevant
• They liked alternative for "contents"
• They liked the masthead as it stands out
• The continuity of colours
• Good that it is split into sections
• They liked the images that I took
• They felt that the improvements I made in Microsoft Publisher were good, and that the final task looked better than in Photoshop

Double Page Spread

• The double page spread is the best of the three
• The slogan for the band is good, and the image looks eye-catching.
• The arrangement of pages is good
• They liked the effects on the images
• They liked the film strip/camera roll
• The striking images
• The spotlights draw attention to the main image
• The writing stands out against the background, so it can be read easily
• They liked the two black and white images which I placed in the filmstrip

What I could have improved :/

Front Cover

• The front cover could fit the genre more
• I could have done the writing so it was less distracting than the main image
• It needs more cover lines
• There could be different font for adverts to the one used for the title

Contents Page

• The text could be sectioned off from the rest, in boxes
• They also felt that there was something missing, but like me, weren't sure what it was
• They also thought that this was the weakest part of my three creations

Double Page Spread

• The continuation of image could be better
• I could of had something across the bottom to fill in the space
• The font could have a border, or be placed in a box

Through finding out this information I can see that overall people were pleased with what they would get for their money if it were a real magazine, and that not many alterations would need to be made to improve it. They also shared the same feelings as me when it came to the contents page, so that is what I would need to go back to and look at again if there was time.