Evaluation Question 1

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

I looked at very successful magazines that are currently popular and well known. My main focus was on Kerrang, as they focus on rock and metal artists which is what my magazine is about. Therefore I deconstructed Kerrang, giving me ideas about conventions which were very important that I include in my magazine, and how to present them to make it appealing to the target audience. 

The main image that I used was very important because everything else that I did would be based around it. For example, depending on the colour and how bright it is, text and other pictures would have to be placed in the appropriate area to make it stand out and become more visible. From looking at magazines with the same genre, the main image often promotes the genre of music, so I used this idea and did the same.

The mise-en-scene was crucial. The costume is particularly important, so I made sure the artist’s costume was very prominent. His dark outfit clearly suggests that his music is rock/metal based, and the stage lights in the background tie in with the masthead ‘To The Stage!’.

I’ve tried to keep the overall theme of colours reasonably dark, but also I’ve included bright colours to make particular parts stand out, and thus catching the reader’s eye. My colours that I have used mainly appeal to a male audience, as males will generally read a magazine like this rather than females. This is because females tend to go for the lighter side of rock instead of the heavier side, so I kept my colour scheme overall quite dark.

When I deconstructed Kerrang, I realised that I like the way they use the exclamation mark at the end of their masthead, as it makes Kerrang stand out and look more loud. Therefore I used this idea to make my own masthead (To The Stage) stand out, and hopefully this would stick in the reader’s head just like Kerrang does.
In order to properly evaluate my pages I placed them in a powerpoint presentation, so I could clearly assess my work.

All 3 pages finalized

Double Page Spread (Final)

This is what my double page spread looks like. I have used the same band as I did for the main-focused band on my front cover, to keep the magazine flowing. I like the image that I have chosen as it is reasonably dark (to promote the genre) but also the stage lights in the background make the picture brighter and more colourful; similar to the front cover. I have included the magazine logo at the top-left corner to constantly remind the reader about 'To The Stage!' and so it sticks in their heads. I have also included black lines in the page to split the text up, which makes it easier to navigate around when reading. In order to make the text more readable, I had to give it a white outer-glow, which also makes it bolder. 

Contents Page (Final)

These are the improvements I have made to my contents page. I have used my pier's comments about my page to make it better, which I believe I have achieved. I have used a black badge instead of a shape to place '06!!' on top of, and I have changed some of the fonts, which will hopefully make it more appealing. I have added some more text to the side bar about whats to be expected inside as there was not as much of it there before. Also, I have changed the page numbers to a different colour (to red) to make it stand out from the rest of the text, therefore it should catch the eye first.

Peer Assessment For Contents Page

Everyone looked at everyone else's work, in order to pick out the positives and negatives. This was good because we can then find out what people like, and what people think we should improve. After we have collected everyone's ideas, we can then move on and add these ideas to our page to finalise it. These are some of the positives of my page and things that I should improve on:

Positives:
-My page clearly shows what type of music I am doing
-The mist (behind the page numbers) is effective
-The background image is good as it promotes young bands

Improvements that need to be made:
-The logo at the bottom-right of the page needs to be moved up to the top-left, so it is more easily visible
-The shape behind '06!!' needs to be changed to, say, a badge, so it is more about rock and not as clipart looking
-The contents title needs to be improved
-I should include a font that looks like a stamp, to make it stand out and promote rock

Contents Page (First Draft)

I have designed a first draft of my contents page and this is what it looks like. As you can see, the background is a full picture. I chose this because when I got my questionnaire results back, I found out that people prefer big pictures. At the bottom right of the page I have included my logo which is a picture of stage lights, which I will include in every page. This makes my magazine different from other magazines, and therefore readers will start to recognise the symbol and become familiar with it.
However, when it comes to getting assessed by the class I shall be making improvements, so that people like it and to make it look more advertising.

Front Cover (Final)

As you can tell, I have made some huge adjustments to my front cover. This is because I wasn't too happy with the original. I changed my main image from myself to an actual famous singer, as I appeared quite dark in the shot. Also, the singer's war paint on his body and his long black hair help to promote my genre as well. I have also added two extra side-photos to help show what is expected to come in the magazine. I have kept the coverlines the same, however I have adjusted their position on the page to what I feel is a new, appropriate place for them to fit in with the main image.