Evaluation Activity One- Draft.

IN WHAT WAYS DOES YOUR MEDIA PRODUCE USE, DEVELOP OR CHALLENGE FORMS AND CONVENTIONS OF REAL MEDIA PRODUCTS? (I.E OF MUSIC MAGAZINES)

With detailed reference to research and planning for my Indie genre Magazine, we looked at a various range of Magazines as well as those that belonged to previous media students. It was evident that those who received the highest marks were the ones that followed the conventions of a Magazine. The reason for this is that the producers know the needs of the target audience; therefore attracting attention and receiving more purchases. The Golden Spiral has been put into use (bearing in mind that the human eye naturally browses from top left to bottom right); so the producers know that the eye catching aspects will need to be placed cleverly; in order to attract the most attention. Furthermore, these Magazines have committed to the Rule of Thirds so that the overall appearance of the Magazine will look professional and easy on the audiences’ eye. More so, there is a consistent house theme that runs throughout the Magazine which again gives a sense of professionalism. It is clear what the three main colour palettes are in the Magazine and all of the colours are used effectively, with the audiences’ needs in mind. The most common colour used to attract the audiences’ attention is red or yellow, which are vibrant and dynamic colours that are aesthetically pleasing.

 The images above are the style models that my Magazine is based upon. ‘Q’ Magazine was the one that really matched the genre that my Magazine was based on; also it gave me inspiration for my Magazine. ‘Q’ follows the regular conventions that make a Magazine. I attempted to re-invent the red and white of the 'Q' Logo, in the top left hand corner (rather than a circle, I decided upon a speech bubble). This is because these particular colours are eye-catching and attractive towards my target audience. The reason for the speech bubble was the attempt in trying to get the Magazine to interact with the audience and feel a sense of belonging. Also, the images of the two models are the main focal point of the Magazine; for my Cover I have placed the models centrally and matched it according to the Rule of Thirds. By including two males, it would attract my target audience of 16-25 year olds due to their image. Simultaneously, it will attract females due to their style in fashion and possibly their overall look (as it replicates those of The Smiths, Disclosure, Kasabian etc.) Although the Cover of the ‘Q’ Magazine is the use of deep pink, I have replaced that with red as it is a more striking colour and has deep connotations alongside with it. This is maintaining the use of colours in order to attract attention to the areas that the producers want the most attention to.

The title of my Magazine is ‘IM’ which is an acronym for ‘Indie Magazine’. It seems simple and straight forward. However, the masthead itself is ‘I’M’ with the apostrophe located in the middle. This is so that the Magazine will interact with the audience. Therefore, the masthead with holds two connotations to the Magazine. The first connotation would be the ‘Indie Magazine’ and the second is the interaction with the audience; so that every page on the Magazine it’d speak to the audience (for example I’M CONTENTS’), almost making a statement that the Magazine is what is makes out to be.

Graphologically, I abandoned the use of ‘Z’, ‘E’, or ‘F’ Plan as it didn’t suit my idea for the layout of the Cover.  I wanted to maintain the conventions of the masthead’s positioning on the Cover, as it looked professional and was placed in a convenient place. However if there was a plan that the Cover was centred around,  it would be the ‘F’ Plan due to the text alongside the left hand side and the name of the Band in the middle of the Cover (beneath the image of the boys). Personally, I think that the layout of the Cover drifted away from it holding the conventions of the ‘F’ Plan. Coinciding with the ‘Q’ Magazine, the Mise en Scene helped attract my target audience (and helped my Magazine look like a Magazine) due to the Costumes of the models. Stereotypically speaking, the Indie genre has been famous for checkered shirts, black skinny jeans and boots. By having my models wear this, it is evident what genre this Magazine belongs to.  Alongside the costumes, the quiff is also another stereotype to the Indie genre (as you can see in the ‘Q’ Magazine with The Smiths). There are no props used for this particular Magazine as there aren’t any used in ‘Q’ Magazine, just the models themselves are enough to sell the Magazine. The style is consistent throughout the Contents and DPS to maintain the Indie Genre. One model is wearing a stereotypical outfit whereas the other is wearing a more casual yet indified outfit, to portray the difference within the two.

For the Camerawork there was a range of shots captured, in order to convey the versatility of the Magazine (pragmatically showing the versatility of the actual content and how they are able to attract audiences of different genre). I got the models to be the CVI of the Magazine, by making eye contact with the audience (looking directly at them). For the Cover they have a serious expression on, to get the audience intrigued and also it was common throughout most ‘Q’ Magazine Covers (whereas in the DPS they are smiling more and relaxed). If the audience is intrigued, then they feel more inclined in buying the Magazine. A close up was used to introduce the artists, as they are upcoming and new. A mid shot was used for the Contents and a long/ whole body shot was used for the DPS. By using these various shots, it shows the flexibility of the Magazine and holds the conventions of a real Magazine (as they have different number of shots). As my models are photogenic, it will appeal to the audience as they fit the particular genre of my Magazine; increasing the amount of purchases. The images were placed accordingly to the Rule of Thirds, maintaining the professional look. For the Contents page, I have reconstructed the ‘Z’ Plan, to make it easy on the eye and it will flow better.

Simple yet effective were the two main things that I was looking for when choosing a style for my Magazine. For the masthead, I used the font ‘Arial Rounded MT Bold’ as it had an eye-catching aura to it, which would definitely attract attention. Also, it had an Indie edge to it, coinciding with the overall genre. For the font for the Band, I used ‘Bebas’ as it matched the genre of the Band. Furthermore, it was simple yet screamed out attention. It holds the Indie genre and looked striking as it was bold and in red, making it hard to ignore. Finally, for the Issue No, Date, Price and list of artists featuring in the Magazine I used ‘Artone Elongated’ as it  had a unique feel about it and matched the genre to my Magazine. All of the fonts complemented each other well yet simultaneously standing out. By only having three fonts, it has stuck to the conventions of a Magazine by only having a maximum of three fonts otherwise the Cover (and effectively the whole Magazine) will look messy, chaotic and unprofessional. When constructing my Magazine, I used guides in order to help me make the Magazine in a well-mannered and professional way; consistently keeping a certain number of boxes the same. I did this so overall it would hold the conventions of a well and carefully planned Magazine.

The genre that my Magazine is conveying is Indie. The costumes and hairstyle give it away, as it fits the stereotypical view of how the Indie genre is portrayed throughout media. The layout of the Magazine suggests the genre, due to the similarity with the ‘Q’ Magazine. The fonts used coincide with the Indie theme. So does the colour palette, as red, white and black are commonly used in Indie Magazines (take ‘Q’, NME for example). Indie artists have been portrayed as rebellious due to their stance, facial expression and even the lighting of the image; I attempted in doing that, only succeeding with the serious facial expressions of the artists.

Overall, I think that ‘IM’ has matched the regular conventions that make a Magazine. Partly due to the  re-construction and replication of existing Magazine mingled with fresh new ideas and keeping the house theme consistent throughout the Magazine.