Evaluation Question 2

How does your media product represent particular social groups?

 Here is a picture that I took of my model and a picture of Florence Welch from an NME magazine. The posture in the magazine's picture is very similar as they both have their arms back supporting their body and their legs in a similar position. 

However, the clothes that my model is wearing are very different to the clothes that Florence is wearing, I think that the clothes that Florence is wearing don't really portray the genre of music very well because the outfit that she is wearing could easily mislead the reader into thinking that she is a pop artist, however the clothes that my model is wearing portray the genre of the music featured in the magazine well because they are clothes that are typically associated with Indies, the parka - usually associated with mod's - and the plain colours of the shorts and top are simple and effective. Also, the Black Dr Martens that my model is wearing make her look edgy and boyish which is good for the indie music genre.

The facial expressions of both models are very similar however Florence is looking directly at the camera where as my model is looking up. Where as the shot of Florence is a medium shot looking straight at her, my photograph - although a medium shot - the camera is looking slightly up at her. This shows the reader that she is strong and dominant.

My photograph is lit only by natural light so it is a fairly bright picture with very little shadowing, where as the picture from NME is lit with artificial lighting and the shadowing in the top left corner looks as though it has been edited in. Although the picture in the magazine does look more professional because of the artificial lighting, I think that my photograph portrays the Indie genre well because the clouds create natural shadowing which compliments the dark colours of her clothing.

Although there aren't any props used in either photo, Florence is sitting on a platform and my model is sitting on a tyre. The stripes on the platform that Florence is sitting on are associated with America because the article is based on her music becoming prominent in the USA however the background of a field and the fact that she is sitting on a tyre in my photo shows the reader that the article is based in Britain because of the British countryside and shows the typical 'British indie' culture.

Above, is a picture of Laura Marling and the picture that I used for my front cover. Although the picture of Laura Marling was not featured in a magazine it was used on the NME website, there are many similarities between the two pictures, for example the fact that they are both holding a guitar and they are both looking down. Both pictures have very plain backgrounds which makes the person in the photograph dominant and ensures that the audience will look at the person rather than the background. However, there are some differences between the two photographs, for example there is a lot of shadowing in the picture of Marling where as my picture is very lit and bright, also, the facial expression of my model is that she is smiling slightly which makes her look happy and welcomes the audience where as in the picture of Marling, she is frowning and looks sad which makes the reader immediately assume that her music is of a sad tone.

The fact that these pictures look alike represents the indie social group well because Laura Marling is a recognised musician in the indie music scene.

Evaluation Question 1

In what ways does your media product use, develop or challenge forms and

conventions of real media products? 

The current market of music magazines is very competitive and it is becoming increasingly difficult for music magazines to become and remain successful.

At the beginning of 2011 the circulation figures for a sample of music magazines was:

• Mojo ( Bauer Consumer Media ) : 87,555 ; -7.5%
• Q ( Bauer Consumer Media ) : 77,522 ; -12.1%
• Classic Rock ( Future Publishing Ltd ) : 62,354 ; -7.9%
• Uncut ( IPC Media Ltd ) : 62,305 ; -14.2%
• Kerrang! ( Bauer Consumer Media ) : 42,077 ; -2.1%
• Metal Hammer ( Future Publishing Ltd ) : 35,259 ; -15.7%
• New Musical Express ( IPC Media Ltd ) : 27,650 ; -14.0%

As you can see there is a lot of competition and each magazine's circulation has decreased, most noticably, Metal Hammer which has decreased by 15.7%.

On the front cover of my magazine, the union jack design element shows the audience that that particular story in the magazine will be based in Britain, it also shows that this story is important  in the magazine and that is why it is standing out on the page. This design element also adds a professional look to the magazine and grabs the readers eye immediately, this is a convention of music magazines and has before been featured on the cover of Q which shows that it is a legitimate convention.

The title of my magazine on  the front cover is similar to the colour of the background, this challenges the conventionality as most magazine covers have their title a very different colour to their background so that it stands out. However, my title still stands out equally, if not more then these magazine because the title has an outline which compliments the "Nova Solid" font and distinguishes is clearly from the background.

The picture that I used for my front cover is conventional for a music magazine; the guitar shows the audience clearly that the genre of the magazine is music and the fact that it has a woman on the front cover appeals to the target audience (indie males between 16-30), my model is looking down and smiling which looks coy and a bit shy but the fact that her legs are bare is common for magazines because it adds insentive for males to buy the magazine.

I chose this model for my magazine because she is an indie person naturally, she suits the clothes and her hair is a similar golden colour to the guitar so it meant that I could use the eyedropper tool and apply this colour to some of the fonts. The clothes that she is wearing are associated with the indie culture, the typical 'grandad cardigan' and band t-shirt shows the audience what the genre of the music that will be featured in the magazine is.

Most music magazines consist of three columns, although they are sometimes uneven, for example sometimes it will appear that there are only two columns when in fact there are still three but a picture or paragraph of writing takes up two columns with one third pf the page left and consisting of more writing. On my contents page I have created three columns but the picture in the bottom hand corner goes across two of the columns. This breaks up the writing and allows visual aids for the reader so that they dont get bored or skip the writing all together because it could appear overwhelming.

  

 My target audience will understand what genre of music is featured in my magazine because of the stories that are featured on the coverlines. Bands such as Vampire Weekend, Foo Fighters and General Fiasco are featured which shows the indie rock genre and appeals to the target audience.

Double Page Spread Final

Double page spread analysis

This is a double page spread from Q magazine featuring Lady Gaga. There is only one picture used of Lady Gaga ans this picture takes up an entire half of the double page spread. The only colour that is featured in this double page spread is the L in the background of the writing, this design element grabs the readers eye and immediately makes them realise who is featured on the spread. In the bottom right hand corner of the page, Q has put their logo and page number. However, page numbers are not featured on every single page of the magazine and always have three digits, for example 010-100

This double page spread from NME features Lily Allen. The Black colour of the text/her hair contrasts with the red colour of her shirt. Lily Allen is renound for being edgy and having an attitude about her, the effect around the writing suggests this, as well as this, the pose of her photograph and her facial expression also insinuates that she is confident and bold.
The writing on this double page spread is split into four columns and it appears that there isnt much writing. The picture and the pull quote dominate more or less the entire double page spread and the quote shows the reader what the tone of the interview will be before they even start to read it. The page number is featured on the bottom left hand corner of the left page so that the reader can easily access the story by just flicking through the page numbers.